Losing Arthur
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: After the horrible news of a fatal brain tumor, Arthur must undergo a dangerous and radical surgery. Will it save him, or will he lose everything? The LAST of my "Little Family" series!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I know it's been ages and ages since my last update or new story. I've just been a little preoccupied with stuff and the ideas are not coming as quickly as they used to. This will be the last Little Family Story and hopefully wrap everything up for Arthur and Ariadne. **

Losing Arthur

1.

~ The apartment felt unnaturally quite without the children there. As though all the air was let out of the once vibrant and living space.

Ariadne had hired a cleaning crew to make their home look, less like a home, and more like a magazine spread. Gone were the errant toys on the living room floor, the scuff marks on the base boards. The closets had all been organized and all the little loose ends put into storage.

It was hard to control life right now, but her home could still be beautiful. It could still look like her world wasn't falling apart.

Darcy had finally gotten her way and was in a ballet troupe. It was an eclectic mixture of Russian and French dancers and they would be in America for a few months. Her schooling was put on hold for the opportunity. She would have to play catch up once she came back to Paris, but Ariadne couldn't deny her daughter the chance to become a professional ballerina after she had worked so hard for it.

Dominic was at a summer camp. One that taught wilderness survival skills and had appealed to the child more than any other program. It was some much needed time away from the family where he could be on his own more.

Daniel, the second born, was with his grandfather for the summer. The pair of them on a grand concert tour though Europe. Albert had always been fond of Daniel. If it was the blindness, the easy way he leaned music, or just Daniel's natural sweetness, the two bonded.

Drew was now three and was staying with Cobb and Sarah until things got better at home. Ariadne didn't want her youngest to see her father like this. Ariadne didn't want any of the children to see their father like this.

So, she purposefully and painfully, sent them away.

~ Ariadne gave one last look over the grand apartment.

'_Perfect. It looks perfect_.' she thought just as the door buzzed. She was expecting the nurse to come today and settle in. She hadn't bothered to choose a nurse but relied on Doctor White to assign a professional to come.

"You must be Carol." Ariadne said to the large bodied woman standing at the door.

The nurse in question had no smile for her, and her plain, sour looking face looked suspiciously past Ariadne into the apartment.

"I'm nurse Ward." The woman said is an accent Ariadne couldn't quite put a name to.

"Please come in." Ariadne said feeling slightly uncomfortable. This unpleasant looking woman was going to be living in her home for the foreseeable future. It was a thought that didn't create warm feelings of comfort she was hoping for.

But then again, what was she hoping for? Mary Poppins? Patch Adams? She had wanted Doctor White to be kind and assuring. For an expert in his field, he sounded so grim about Arthur's prospects.

Ariadne watched nurse Ward look around the apartment.  
>"I wasn't told there were children in the home." she said stiffly.<p>

Ariadne followed her line of sight to the mantle place and saw the family pictures.

"All the children are going to be out of the house while my husband is in recovery." she said cooly. "Till the end of August at least."

"Very good." nurse Ward said and continued to look around the apartment. "You really don't see fine homes like these anymore. After the war, so many were chopped up to make smaller homes you know."

"Yes, we know. My husband bought this home from the family that lived here for over sixty years." Ariadne said.

Nurse Ward didn't seem interested.

"Would now be a correct time to talk about the recovery plan?" Nurse Ward said in her stiff, angry accent. Her tone clipped and efficient.

"Certainly." Ariadne said and waved the large woman to the couch.

Nurse Ward refused to sit back of the comfortable sofa Ariadne had steam cleaned and as a result, looked like a great, ugly bird perched precariously on a tree branch.

"Now, Doctor White has told me about the procedure tomorrow. He said your husband will do his recovery here instead of a hospital or rehab facility." the nurse said.  
>Ariadne nodded. She wanted to explain how Arthur had made a point of not wanting to stay in a hospital any longer than necessary. He wanted to recuperate in his own bed, in his own home. He also made the rather depressing comment of dying in his own home as well.<p>

Doctor White, the expert, had allowed his newest patient to do what he liked. Ariadne suspected it was because money was not an issue for them on Arthur's health. The Doctor and his staff were bending over backwards for them in every way. Ariadne even had Doctor White's cell phone and home number.

Nurse Ward asked no questions about why they were keeping Arthur home. Perhaps she had been briefed, perhaps she really didn't care.

"Will he be in a hospital bed?" she asked.  
>"Well, he'll be sleeping in our bed." Ariadne said feeling a little uncomfortable.<br>"We will need a hospital bed for him. I can order one today if you like. We should put him here in the living room. Make him feel more involved and not shut away.

"No, no hospital beds." Ariadne interrupted. "Absolutely no letting him sleep in the family room. He's a very private person, he wouldn't want people to see him like this."

"There won't be anyone here but the three of us." Nurse Ward told her. "It's my understanding that there may be some prolonged damage to the brain after surgery. These might cause urinary incontinence, muscle weakness, and even temporary palsy. We need a hospital bed that is equipped to help him."

Ariadne could feel her blood turn cold at the idea of her husband lying in a hospital bed in the middle of the living room. His sheets smelling like urine and being unable to walk.

She felt slightly sick at the idea.

"We… we can order a hospital bed." she said at last. "But he won't stay out here. He will be in our room. I'll have the twin bed from the guest room put beside it. That way I can take care of him at night."

Nurse Ward examined her with beady, almost cruel looking eyes.  
>"Missus, may I speak my mind?" she asked. Ariadne looked up and nodded. "I can tell you've never taken care of someone who needs this level of care. It's not easy. It's not like caring for a baby. A baby has basic needs that are easily met. Grown men are more difficult."<p>

"He's my husband." Ariadne told her defensively.

"My point exactly. I think it would be best if you allowed only myself to help him. It's hard for a wife to see her husband like this." the nurse said.

"You've handled this before?" Ariadne asked.

A flash of darkness passed over the nurse's face.

"With brain trauma, is not an easy road. I'm sure the doctor told you about what can go wrong." the large woman said.

Ariadne nodded.

She tried to block out the ugly picture Doctor White, the expert, had painted for them. The Arthur might not recognize her or their family when he came out of surgery. How he might be more aggressive. How his personality might be altered.

There was so much that could go wrong. So much to lose.

"I'll stay with him." Ariadne said bravely.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

~ Arthur tried to fight off the urge to sleep again. The little games to help increase memory and make certain synapses fire in his brain were making him exhausted. He hated mind games. IQ testing, SAT testing it was all a horror show to him. Yet, he had to do it to prep for surgery tomorrow.

He was able to quickly put together a story with four cartoon flash cards. A woman leaving her home, going to the store, buys things comes home with those things in a bag. These tests were insultingly easy. Then there came the hard questions. The one that he always felt were there to trick his mind.

He closed his eyes as another headache rolled over him. The medications he was on were meant to keep him relaxed. Problem was, he sleep most of the day away and when he wasn't asleep, his head hurt.

It pained him to remember that was how his mother had been at the end as well. How she had so diligently worked on scrap books for him. Written letters for him to read. But those scrap books were all looked over till the pages were falling out. The letters had all been opened and read. Ariadne had wanted him to write letter to his own children. Hand written ones with the nice stationary she bought just for the task. He had promised he would do it, but avoided it at all costs. He wasn't sure if writing the letters would mean he had given up, or if he just had nothing to say to his children. Ariadne was the one who was good at these types of things. If it was her that was dying, she would have everything taken care of.

Scrap books would be made, video letters would be done as well as amazing handwritten ones. She might even do a fancy home movie compilation for them so they would always remember her. Always know her.

Arthur, practical and never overly sentimental, had revised his will and the trust for the children. He also had to make sure Ariadne would always have enough to live on. He decide against giving her access to all their funds. Hoping that a months allowance, generous monthly allowance, would prevent anyone attempting to con her into poverty. He had fears of some master ladies man swooping in and stealing everything. His wife had little experience with men romantically other than him. What if she fell victim to someone like Eames?

He doubted such a thing would happen, but his new team of lawyers had a fear the worst and plan for it type of attitude. Arthur liked them because they understood that money was real and money would protect you. Poverty was a nice idea, but he didn't want his daughters, sons and wife exposed to it.

So, more than letter writing, more than cute scrap books or uncomfortable video diaries that he would never do anyway; Arthur felt like a better husband and father because of the thick manilla envelope tucked into the safe deposit box at the bank. It was filled with nice, neat documents about his wealth. About Drew's trust fund. How Daniel's school would be paid for each year he decided to attend. About the college fund for Dominic and Darcy's eventual taking over of the vast company nobody in the family really wanted.

If she wanted to sell it, that was fine. She could live her dream and be a professional dancer for the rest of her life if she liked. But the company was hers when she turned 18 and she could do with it as she liked.

"Done with the games already?" came a voice and Arthur looked up to see his wife leaning over him.

He had fallen asleep again. His laptop doing the same on the bed beside him.

"It hurts my head." he told her simply.

"Well, keep at it. You know what Doctor White said." she told him efficiently. She was repacking his hospital bag again. A nice robe especially for the trip to the hospital was the main item.

"It's only two nights." he sighed and restarted his computer. "Then, I'll be home."

"I know." she said and re-folded his pajamas and slippers. "I hired your nurse today."

Arthur looked up from the game. A negative space art game meant to annoy him.

"Oh?" he said casually.

"Yes. Her name is Ward and she seems very capable. Although not very pleasant to talk to." she told him but refused to look his way.

"You really think I'll need a nurse?" he asked. "I doubt I'll be that bad."

"Yes, it's just brain surgery." Ariadne said with a faint smile.

"I don't want to be a burden to you if I'm like that." he said gently. "I mean, you've got enough to worry about with the kids."

She looked up and for the first time, in a very long time, he noticed she looked older to him. Her face was no longer as youthful and cherub like. She was still beautiful. Her eyes were large pools of brown that he had always liked. Her skin was flawless and her hair perfect. Yet now, he noticed that she looked so different from the girl Cobb had introduced him to so long ago. She had been so young then. Barely into her twenties when he had started seeing her. How silly and in love they must have seemed back then. So unprepared for life's challenges.

"You won't be a burden to me." she told him. "You'll be a burden to nurse Ward. She's going to stay in the guest room and you'll be here in the bedroom."

"Of course I will be. Where else would I be?" he asked.

He sensed Ariadne knew something he didn't, but his wife refused to elaborate.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing." she said brightly. "Just, never had real live in help before."

"The house looks nice." he offered lamely.

"Too nice. I'm afraid to even use a dish." she said.

"That black cat you got Daniel won't help. All the shedding and the litter box."

She looked at him in mild surprise.

"I suppose." she said sadly.

"I think I remember saying no cats. I hate cats. It's like having Eames around the house." he said.

She was silent.

"I come home and we have a cat sitting on the sofa. Calm as can be. Daniel doesn't even play withe the damn thing and I'm always finding it sitting on my dresser every morning." he went on.

"Let's not worry about the cat right now." Ariadne told him gently.

Arthur nodded and tried to say something else. Not about the cat, but something important. His tumor was getting worse. He could hardly think these days and it was difficult to get words to travel from him brain to his mouth. He wanted to offer comfort to her. That while this tumor was serious, it wasn't going to kill him. He was to young to die. Even though his mother had been much younger when she was claimed by the same affliction.

He wanted ask her about her day and about the plans for his recovery. He wanted to ask about the kids and that he missed Drew and the boys. How he was worried about Darcy and being away from home for so long. He didn't agree with Ariadne that it was alright to give up on her schooling temporarily to travel the world with a dance troupe. It was like she had run off to join the circus.

He wanted to say all these things, but was too tired. His medication making his sleepy again and he sensed his wife putting a blanket over him.

Of all the things he wanted to say, I love you, I'll be fine, tell the kids to behave. He wanted her to know he didn't want to be a vegetable after the surgery. Didn't want to be a horrible burden to his still young wife. Didn't want his children to see their father like that. He would prefer death. There was some dignity with death. In death, he could never grow old or have his memory changed. He would always be the good husband and father he was now. He remembered thinking death was better as sleep took him into that place were all troubles are forgotten.

~ For a long time, Ariadne watched him sleeping. His surgery was in the morning and she was glad that he was able to get in so quickly for the procedure. She suspected Arthur didn't remember, or wouldn't believe that things had gotten so much worse.

He had started to smell things that weren't there. Popcorn, sour milk and dirt. He always was smelling dirt. As if they were on a farm instead of in a Paris apartment. He had also started seeing things that wen't there. When Daniel announced suddenly that he wanted a cat, Arthur had started seeing a black cat all over the apartment. A black cat sleeping on the sofa, a black cat walking away. Always a black cat when he had forbidden cats of any kind.

It was a bad omen. This phantom black cat he was seeing. Just now, she knew he wanted to talk to her, but couldn't seem to form any words. He covered him a little better and left him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

~ The next morning, Ariadne roused her husband, with difficulty, to take to the hospital. Paris traffic seemed to oblige them that day. As though everyone could sense this was a difficult moment and to tread lightly.

The nurse at the front desk recognized them right away and escorted them to the beautifully appointed surgical ward. Arthur was prepared with more blood work, forced to change into a paper hospital gown, much to his annoyance, and given medication to relax him.

"When it's over, I'll be here." Ariadne said softly when they were alone again.

Arthur wanted to say something. Wanted to say thank you. Wanted to say he was glad that she was here for him. That she had brought framed family pictures to put on the night stand in the recovery room. But his tongue seemed locked in his jaw.

Too soon, Doctor White came in and talked about the surgery once more. His voice was indifferent; almost robot like. He didn't meet their eyes, didn't want to focus too much on the human aspect of this illness. Doubtless, he was planning to write a paper on Arthur's brain tumor if the surgery was a success; or even if it wasn't.

Then, an orderly was there. Wheeling the whole hospital bed down a hall. The orderly making small talk about the weather and how crazy the traffic was sometimes. Arthur had nothing to say.

"This is where we stop." the kind orderly said just before they breached a large set of green doors.

Ariadne nodded and Arthur saw she was trying to be brave.

He opened his mouth to say something. His tongue still not working.

"I know." she whispered. "I'll be here when you wake up."

She kissed him sweetly on the lips and he wished his brain work well enough that he should grab hold of her coat. He looked back at her as the orderly pushed in through the doors. His wife, small and pretty in the bleak hallway. Her face somber and for the first time, Arthur was afraid he would never see her again.

~ He didn't remember much after that. A nurse in a white mask shot him with more medication and it was like he was flying.

His body was weightless and he felt nothing at all. He had no memories, no fears and no pain. It didn't occur to him that he might have died in that instant.

~ The Point Man smelled gasoline. He heard police and ambulance sirens. The wailing of them was different and he knew he wasn't in America.

"Arthur?" came a muffled voice.

His head hurt. Like a dull headache that was becoming noticeable. His brain was swelling up and his body was cramping.

"Arthur? Can you move?" came a voice again.

The sirens were getting closer and he tried to move but couldn't. Panic rushed over him in painful waves. A cold dread that something was wrong. Something happened in the surgery and he was paralyzed.

"Arthur!" came a shout and he opened his eyes to a strange world. He was in a car and it was upside down.

"Arthur, can you move?" came the voice again and he felt his head turn, very slowly to the speaker. Ariadne was upside down to. Her small, thin body was strapped to the passenger side of the car and a look of fear was written over her face.

Arthur had to look for a long time at his wife. She looked different. Her hair was shorter and her face looked much thinner than he had ever seen it.  
>"Arthur!" she shouted at him.<p>

"I can move." he told her in annoyance. "What happened?"

"We were hit by a truck, what do you think happened?" she said with equal annoyance. "Can you crawl out?"

He didn't understand the question. Didn't understand what was happening. He gripped the steering wheel of the car tightly.

'_I haven't driven in months_.' he told himself.

"We crashed on the way to the hospital?" he asked her.

"What hospital? Arthur, climb out!" Ariadne ordered him. He watched her unfasten her seatbelt and fall, very ungracefully on to the ground.

As if for the first time, he saw it. He saw the glass from the broken windshield, heard the car alarm with the sounds of sirens. Heard rescue workers shouting at people. He smelled gasoline.

"Ariadne?" he croaked as his wife snaked out of the broken passenger side window.  
>"I need help!" she was shouting as he tried to find his own seatbelt.<p>

There was a sharp stinging sensation to his hand and he looked down to see blood making warm, red trails down his fingers.  
>"Oh, God." he groaned. He hated the sight of his own blood. "Ariadne! Are the kids alright?"<p>

"What?" her voice came back, quick and efficient. "What?" she demanded again.

"The kids. Darcy and the boys. Was Drew in the car?" he asked. He couldn't see the back seat from his awkward upside-down position and tried to maneuver himself better. He didn't hear the baby crying and no other noises were coming from the car.  
>"Arthur, what are you talking about?" she asked. He felt her slender hands reach into the passenger seat from the broken window, move over his lap and unfasten his seat belt.<p>

"Sorry about this." she said quickly before releasing him. His body falling out of his seat. "I know it's a little forward of me."

He sensed she might be teasing him, but his mind couldn't seem to make sense of what she was saying.

With only primal instinct to guide him, he was following her voice out of the passenger side window.

"We were hit by a truck?" he asked stupidly once his hands made contact to the hot, glass ridden asphalt.

"Careful!" Ariadne spat at him.

"Sir?" came another voice and Arthur looked up to see a paramedic kneeling next to him.

"I'm fine." Arthur said "Check the back seat. My children."

The paramedic was shinning a flash light in his eyes and the point man winced slightly.

"There were children in the car?" another paramedic was asking.

"What?" Ariadne almost laughed. "No there wasn't!"

"Are you sure?" the second paramedic asked.

"Very sure!" Ariadne said.  
>"Are the boys at home? Is Darcy at school?" he asked in his wife's direction.<p>

"The boys? You mean Cobb and Eames?" she asked.

He shook his head while the paramedic started to take his blood pressure.  
>"No. Not Cobb and Eames. Our boys? Where's Darcy and Drew?" he said feeling angry. Why was his wife acting like this? Why was she being intuitionally difficult?<br>"Arthur, what the hell are you talking about?" Ariadne said roughly. Her voice was different somehow. "Who's Darcy and Drew?"

Irritation unlike he had ever felt before rushed through him. He glared at Ariadne and she looked back mystified.  
>"Arthur?" she asked. Her voice calmer now. "Did you hit your head?"<p>

She sat beside him on the asphalt and he saw more clearly than before how different she looked. Not only was she much thinner, her clavicle bone was showing through a scoop neck shirt, but her whole style of dressing was off. She was dressed… no other words fit, like a tom boy.

Her dark eyes were obstructed by thick, black rimmed hipster style glasses, and her hair was cut alarmingly short. If her face hadn't been so feminine, he would have guessed it was a boys hair cut. An effeminate boy perhaps, but still boyish.

She was still as beautiful as always, but her sudden change in weight, clothing and hair made his mind fight to remember the lovely wife he remembered her to be.

"I didn't hit my damn head, Ariadne." he said curtly. "All you had to do was say the children weren't in the car!"

"What children?" she asked. Her thin face looking concerned. "We've never had kids in this car. We don't really even know any kids."

"Sir, there's no car seat in the back." the paramedic said.

Arthur sat up and looked at the destroyed car. It was a very nice luxury sedan. Defiantly one he would pick.

"This is my car." he said.

"Yes. You bought it last year." Ariadne confirmed.

"I don't understand." he said.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Ariadne was telling him. "You're not making any sense."

"I just left the damn hospital!" Arthur shouted.

He stood up, was instantly dizzy and almost fell. Ariadne's slightly body helped keep him vertical. She was surprisingly strong. Her hands and and arms pushing him back up again.

"Stay here, let us get the stretcher." the paramedic said.

"Ariadne, what happened?" Arthur asked.

"We were driving to meet Cobb. You've been picking me up every morning because I had those…_traffic tickets_ and lost my license remember?" she asked.

Arthur shook his head. None of that sounded familiar.  
>"Traffic tickets?" he asked skeptically.<p>

"Fine, driving while intoxicated." Ariadne shrugged in annoyance. "Point is, I can't drive and you offered to drive us when we meet Cobb."

Arthur shook his head.

"What were we meeting Cobb for?" he asked.  
>"The Extraction?" she whispered with a knowing tone. "Don't say anymore till we're alone again."<p>

The paramedics were back and helping Arthur to lay down.

His head hurt and he felt dizzy. Ariadne's waist was too little, he could feel her hip bones and her clothing looked nothing like the clothes that were in their closet. These were cheap, off brand things that were slightly wrinkled and carelessly washed. The original color was faded and should have sen tossed out years ago.

"Arthur, I'm calling Cobb." she was saying. She had climbed into the ambulance next to him. Her cell phone in hand.

He saw her hand then. Her small, hand that he was so used to seeing everyday. The nails weren't painted with the careful, clean, clear coat of polish. They were short and worn down in an uneven pattern. She was wearing no jewelry at all. Not the silver bangle bracelet, or…

"Ariadne." he gasped. Her attention went back to him.  
>"What is it?" she whispered. She leaned closer to him and he couldn't smell the perfume she always wore. She smelled like deodorant, soap and sweat. He saw sun freckles peppering her nose and realized she wasn't wearing any make-up.<p>

"Where's your wedding ring?" he asked.

He had only known her to have taken her wedding ring off a few times. Both times meant something to the both of them.

She looked back. Her eyes seeming larger behind her glasses.

"What wedding ring?" she asked.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

~ Confusion.

There was no other word for it. Arthur tried to think about what he had seen. He tried to make sense of what his wife looked like. What she had said.

_'__The hair cut, the lack of her normal clothing and make-up, that was easily explainable. His doctor said that he might forget things. It was possible Ariadne had cut her hair and started dressing differently since the operation. Her jewelry was another matter. She never took her bracelet off or her wedding ring. Then, there were other things. Driving while intoxicated? She never drank. Doesn't care or even seem to remember their children?'_

That was too much.

"Date of birth?" the doctor asked for the third time.

"Still November second, 1978." Arthur sighed.

"Those words I asked you to remember?" the doctor asked.

"Blue, crown, butterfly, window and chair." Arthur repeated.

"Have you ever had memory impairment before the accident?" the doctor asked.

"I'm currently seeing a specialist about a brain tumor." Arthur sighed.

The doctor looked taken aback. Arthur nodded and reached his hand into his jacket pocket for his billfold.  
>"It was discovered a few months ago. I went in for surgery, but must have blacked out after the crash. I really don't remember." the point man explained.<p>

"Your friend said you had no surgeries or major medical concerns in the past five hers to her knowledge." The doctor said.

Arthur shook his head and felt a sense of panic when he looked at his wallet.

It wasn't the soft, calf skin leather he had grown used to. A present from Ariadne on their first Christmas together. Instead, it was a denser trifold affair that housed business cards, a spar key, his passport scanning card, insurance and even his old lawyer's business card. He was slightly taken aback to see the shinny foil of an unopened condom wrapper inside.

He looked in vain for the plastic casing that held the family pictures of the boys, neatly dressed in matching three piece suits when they were still babies. Darcy, newly arrived in France after she was adopted. Her thin little face still scared looking. He couldn't find Drew's, dressed all in pink, a big gummy smile on her face as always. He couldn't find the oldest picture either. The faded and torn picture taken at a vintage photo booth near a beach when the Point Man and Architect had first started seeing each other. Back when they thought they were keeping it a secret. Ariadne had sat on his lap and they were both smiling. Their skin tanned and they were both careless and happy.

"My wife." Arthur said at last. "She'll have his card."

"What's her name? Your wife's name. She's not listed as next of kin."

"Ariadne." Arthur said. Irritation rising up. "She came with me in the ambulance."

The doctor scowled over his notes.  
>"The lady who filled out your forms in the waiting rooms… she didn't list herself as your next of kin." the doctor said. "Just a friend."<br>"What?" Arthur asked.  
>"Is there anyone else we can call? Someone who is responsible for you? Are your parents still alive?" the doctor asked.<br>"No." Arthur shook his head. What kind of game was this? "My mother's dead and so is my father."

He let out a long sigh.

"No wait, my real father is alive. Can I just see my wi- my friend?" he asked.

He was glad he had caught himself. The doctor was looking at him as though he had lost his mind.

"Alright. Can you give me the name of the specialist who was treating you for a brain tumor?"

"Thaddeus White." Arthur said feeling even more annoyed. "He's here in Paris."

"You're in London, sir." the doctor said and scribbled down another note.

Arthur wanted to say something. Wanted to shout at this man, but he suppressed the urge down deep as the older man left him.

'_When did we come to London?_' the Point Man asked himself. '_What are we doing here? Where are all my pictures? Was I mugged? That must be it._'

He sighed in relief. Someone mugged him and stole his wallet. That was why he didn't have his pictures or his old wallet.

"Arthur?" came a quick, efficient voice.

The Point Man looked up too see Ariadne. She had white strips tapped to her forehead to seal a cut closed, but otherwise, looked fine.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Fine." she breathed easily and walked into his room. "How are you?"

Arthur shook his head.

"I want to go home." he said honestly.  
>"Well, Cobb is on his way." She said and ran her hands into her pockets. It seemed like she didn't know what to do. His wife always knew what to do. She stood at least three feet away from him. Her stance casual, but keeping him distant.<p>

Arthur sighed.

"I'm sorry about the crash, honey. I guess I wasn't ready to start driving again." he admitted.

He watched her eyes grow shockingly wide. A smile turn up her lips and she looked embarrassed and awkward.  
>"Uh, sure, <strong>baby<strong>. No problem." she said in a sarcastic, mocking tone. He watched her roll her eyes as if there was some great joke he was clueless about.

"Did we have a fight?" he asked. "I don't remember, Ariadne, I honestly don't. Whatever it is, I'm sorry."

"What's wrong with you?" She cut him off. A look of almost disgusted bewilderment crossing her face. "Why are you apologizing? We didn't have a fight."

Arthur didn't understand.  
>"You're not… you're not mad at me?" he asked.<p>

She rolled her eyes at him.  
>"No." she said.<p>

"I've been having trouble… remembering because of the brain tumor." he sighed.

"Brain tumor? What brain tumor?" she demanded. That sharpness in her voice back again and she seemed to focus, laser like, onto him.

"The one I was being treated for." he said slowly.

She looked completely lost.

"I had the nose bleeds. I was waking up in bed and you found blood on my pillow." he said even slower.

"Wait." she stopped him. She shook her head as if to rewind the situation. "In what scenario would I have seen your pillow?"

She was almost laughing at him.

"I mean, I've never even been to your place." she added.

"**My place**?" he questioned. "Ariadne, **our **place. Our bed. We're married?" he said with equal sarcasm of his own. "We share a bed. What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the hell are **you** talking about?" she spat with disgust. "We're not married, we've never even dated."

It was Arthur's turn to look disgusted.

"Ariadne, we've been married for over ten years now, we have four children and we live in Paris." he said cooly. He could feel his teeth hurt from wanting to grind them.

"We certainly do not have four kids. I think I would have remembered that." she said with a grin. "Also, we haven't been to Paris since the Fisher Inception."

"The Fisher Inception?" Arthur questioned.

She nodded.

"That's it. You can't tell me you don't remember. That's when we fell in love." he laughed.

She looked at him with concern. Her voice coming calm and clear. She wasn't laughing anymore.  
>"Arthur, we've never been in love. Ever. You kissed me in the dream once. I told you I wasn't interested. You still pursued me and I had to tell you to back off before I finally… well…" she shrugged as if he ought to now.<br>"Before you finally what?" Arthur demanded.  
>She looked embarrassed.<br>"Before I finally came out. Before I finally came out to you guys that I was a lesbian." she said in a low voice.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

~ "Is that a joke?" Arthur spat out before he could stop himself.

"No, it's not a joke!" Ariadne said. Her face flushed red hot and her eyes flamed with anger.

Arthur leaned away from her. Real fear leaping into him as she looked ready to maul him to death.

"I'm sorry." he said quickly.

"What the hell?" she barked at him.

"I'm sorry." he said. "When did this happen?"

"Oh, since this new thing called **always**!" she snapped.

Arthur couldn't understand. Couldn't make sense of what was happening. Ariadne wasn't gay. She had never in all the years they had been together, showed the slightest interest in other women.

"Arthur, what's going on with you? You think we're married?" she asked. Her arms were folded over her thin body and she looked at him with her sharp, angry eyes.

The Point Man wasn't sure what to say.

"I… um." he swallowed hard. "I may have hit my head in the accident. Maybe I'm confused."

"Well, you should know they are going to run more tests. Cobb is your emergency contact and I think they're waiting for him to sign off on one of those brain scans." She made a circle motion with her finger and her small, ringless finger dove right back into her arms.

Arthur sensed no intimacy between them. No long nights with sick babies. No second honeymoon in Rome. No champagne on their wedding day. No kissing his bride on his wedding night. No take out food in a new, empty apartment. His heart hurt from the loss.

"This can't be real." he whispered.  
>"What can't be real?" she said quickly.<p>

He blinked and looked back at her.

"Ariadne, I'm not crazy. This must be a dream." he said. "This is a nightmare."

"You're awake, Arthur. Take out your totem." she said quickly.

He shook his head. He was afraid his totem would say this was reality. He was afraid the dice would say his family never existed at all.

~ Arthur wasn't ready for the Cobb he saw in the waiting room. He had gone for a CT scan and when he came back, he found the Extractor waiting for him.

"Cobb?" the Point Man questioned when he saw the long, unkempt hair and the beard. Dominic Cobb's hair was once blond and he was always well groomed. Now, the extractor could have been mistaken for a homeless person.  
>"Ariadne called." Cobb said.<br>"What happened to you?" Arthur breathed. He could scarily recognize his old friend. Cobb had gotten fatter and there was almost nothing about him that the Point Man recognized.

"Well, I hear you've pissed off Ariadne pretty good." Cobb mused and there was a spark of mirth in his eyes.

Then the light faded.

"She also said you were a little confused. Said you didn't seem to remember much and the things you do remember, aren't real." Cobb said.  
>"They are real." Arthur argued. "Cobb, I'm married to Ariadne and we have four children at home in Paris. I'm dreaming. I fired it out. This is a bad dream. I'm stuck in another dream."<p>

"You're not dreaming." Cobb said calmly.

"I have to be." Arthur said.  
>"You're not dreaming."<p>

"Cobb, listen to me. Eames… he's married to. He's married to Ariadne's old roommate Sadie. I hate her like poison and she donated bone marrow to save my daughter's life. Darcy is my daughter. She's not really mine, she's adopted. See, you know all this in the real world, but my childhood sweetheart had an affair with my father. The man I thought was my father, anyway and had Darcy. When Ariadne and I got married, my dad died and I found out that the little girl was being abused. I thought she was my half sister at the time and I actually got emergency custody of her. I didn't find out until she had cancer that we're not related. My real father is a concert pianist. My mother had this affair and I grew up thinking that horrible old bastard is my father." Arthur said quickly.

He was breathing hard after so many words came out at once.

Cobb only sat there and looked interested. The way a therapist would listen and not judge.

"Cobb, that life was filled with details. I remember details. I remember how Ariadne was trying to lose weight after the baby was born and she passed out. Then we started eating healthy and she makes this horrible egg plant lasagna and…" he felt his tongue curdle at the memory of it. "Oh, it's awful, but a dream can't make you remember the taste of your wife's cooking can it?"

Cobb didn't roll his eyes or look worried. He stared back at Arthur with real concern.

"Arthur, you know as well as I do that the compound convinces you of things." he started to say.  
>"No. Not like this." Arthur interrupted.<p>

"Is it possible another team put you under? Another team got into your dreams? Maybe with a stronger compound?" Cobb asked.  
>"What? This other team fabricated an entire life for me? Created children and family drama? Just made up kinky sex night with the wife? To what end?" Arthur barked.<br>"Uh, you dreamed we had a kinky sex night?" came Ariadne's voice. She had wandered back into Arthur's hospital room with coffee for her and the extractor.

Arthur shifted away from her.

"I didn't dream we had a kinky sex night, dearest." he said in mild annoyance.

"Don't call me dearest." she snapped at him. "You know, when I rejected you the first time, you were just like this. Couldn't believe any girl didn't want you."

Ariadne seemed amused.

"For your information, we're very happily married and have a very healthy sex life." Arthur said. He felt like he was being bullied by her just now. Like they were children on a play ground and she was teasing him.  
>"Oh, let me guess. In your dreams, your penis cures my being a dike and we lived happily ever after. Because your dick solves all problems?" she laughed.<br>"Ariadne, you're not helping." Cobb said gently.  
>"Yes I am. We have to keep him grounded, not let him live in a world of fantasy." she said.<p>

"Try to be nicer about it." Cobb said gently.  
>"Well it wasn't you who is suddenly the spouse with four kids and a kinky sex night is it? I mean, you should have seen the way he looks at me. All puppy dog eyes." she said with a snort.<p>

Arthur felt something cold run through him at the sight of this woman. She was too thin, her hair was cut too short and he didn't like how angry she seemed to be.

As if sensing she wasn't wanted, Ariadne drank her coffee and stood to leave.  
>"Look, if you're here with him, I'm gonna take off." she said.<br>"Ariadne." Arthur called out.

She turned to look back at him.  
>"Your parents names." he said. "They were Victoria and Hugo."<p>

She looked a little surprised.

"You've been researching me?" she said with an uneasy laugh.

"No. You told me. You were adopted. You were very young when they adopted you. Your real parents..." Arthur said quickly. "Sammy. He was in that closet a long time, wasn't he?"

Arthur was relived to see a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

"That's none of your business!" She hissed. "You've been cyber stalking me?"

"I know that those records are sealed because you were a minor and the main witness. I couldn't get to them if I tired." he went on. "Your adoption, name change, believe me when we did a background check on you it came back that you were born to Victoria and Hugo. So, how can I possibly know about Sammy? How can I know about your father?"

"Why don't you just go to hell?" she spat.

"Ariadne, why don't you call it a night? I'll stay here." Cobb was saying in that kind, gentle way of his.

"Fine. Nether of you call me." Ariadne said. Her face still looked pale and shocked, but her eyes were bright with hurt.

"I'm sorry." Arthur said quickly.

"Don't even think of speaking to me." she said without looking at the him.

"How would I know about any of that? You were given an new identity when you were adopted. Those records are in another country."

Ariadne didn't speak. She was out of the room before he could finish.

Cobb let out an uneasy sigh.  
>"Who's Sammy?" the Extractor asked.<p>

"Her little brother. He was murdered by her parents." Arthur said. He felt despicable for bringing up the most painful part of her past like that.

"How did you find that out?" Cobb asked.

"She told me." Arthur said quickly.  
>"In what you think is the real world."<p>

"It is the real world." Arthur snapped coldly.  
>"Are you sure Ariadne didn't just tell you all those things when her drinking was out of control? She used to be pretty bad." Cobb offered.<p>

Arthur didn't like the idea of his wife's drinking being out of control.

"No." he said simply.

It occurred to the Point Man to ask why Cobb looked so radically different. Why his clothing was wrinkled, why his shoes were dirty. Why his hair was darker, thinner and the beard of course.

"Cobb, what happened to you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" the extractor asked.

"You know what I mean. You look awful."

"Well, thanks for that." the extractor laughed. "I'm still trying to get back on my feet I guess."

"From what?"

The extractor looked angry for a second.

"Fine, I'll play along. I was in prison for five years, Arthur. I was arrested when Mr. Saito turned me in at the airport. We all were. You, Ariadne and Eames all plead out. I went to prison for five years, lost my children and when I was released, I had nothing."

The extractor was uncaring and seemed detached from what he was saying.

"I suppose I should be grateful to get out at all. My name was cleared in Mal's murder, but invading dreams for corporate espionage isn't something they take lightly. At least I was offered the guest room in my friend's place. The least he could do after he sold me out to the feds."

Arthur felt an uncomfortable glare hit him.  
>"Me? You live with me and I gave you up?" the Point Man asked. "The Fisher inception."<p>

"Yes, the Fischer inception." Cobb said darkly. "I guess you thought you still had a shot with Ariadne then, so you protected her, but sold me out."

Arthur shook his head. This truly was a nightmare.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

~ Arthur wasn't surprised at his flat. It was downtown, masculine, newly refurbished and very… very him.

"Sorry about the mess." Cobb was saying as soon as the two men were inside. "I meant to do the dishes from last night. Been busy today."

Arthur then noticed definite sighs of an odd couple living arrangement. Cobb's shoes under the couch. Another pair of shoes under the dinning room table. Newspapers were left on the coffee table and the dinning room table was being used as a desk and catch all for junk.

There was also the annoying habit of Cobb putting his jacket over the couch and not hanging it up. His friend was a likable enough person, but Arthur knew it was difficult having him for a roommate.

He missed Ariadne. Missed how his home felt when he entered it. The noise from his two boys was more a comfort to him than anything.

"My room?" the Point Man asked in a frail voice.

"You really don't remember? It's the larger room. On the left." Cobb nodded. "You should try and get some rest."

Arthur only nodded and wandered out of the living room. There was a few old coffee mugs and take away packages on the end table and he shuttered slightly. He was glad he hadn't seen the kitchen.

~ His bedroom was predictable. Queen sized bed with dark brown luxury bedding that was perfectly made. He saw the furnishings were simple, industrial and knowing him, very expensive.

He spent a few moments looking over his life here in this dream. There were no personal touches anywhere. No pictures of family or friends. Not even a collection of note books he always used and saved.

His closet was filled with suits. A few of them bespoke and in dress bags. His closet was neatly organized with winter's clothing stashed away. He saw his luggage sets were on the top shelf. It must be used often to merit that placement. It appeared this apartment was just a landing place in between traveling. His true home was hotel rooms.

He went through his drawers and found no clues other than a large amount of black plain socks. The art work on the wall were blown up prints by a famous New York photographer. All of them were in black and white. All of them casting a cold city with no inhabitants. As if a plauge had taken all human life away.

He checked his night stand to find his first real clue. Here, there were prescription bottles of anxiety medications. The antidepressants were there to. He was on his last fill of six refills. He must have been on them a long time.

He let the bottles fall back in the drawer.

He hated this life. He had to wake up now.

It occurred to him that waking would be just as easy as throwing open the window of his room and jumping. He was on the fifth floor. He would wake up as soon as he would hit the ground. His beautiful wife would be there and they would go back home. Back to their real home in Paris with real art work on the walls. With comfortable couches in the family room. A kitchen that always smelled of cooking. A bedroom that was safe and comfortable. Not this cold and unfeeling place.

He was about to test the windows, to see if they would open, when Cobb knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Arthur jumped and turned to see the former extractor look in.

"Your girlfriend just showed up." Cobb sighed.

"What?" Arthur almost barked.

"Dom, move!" came a hard, breathy voice. The extractor quickly jumped out of the way, a disgusted look on his face at seeing the alarmingly attractive woman.

She was tall, slender with tanned skin. Her hair was dark and long with fashionable layers. Her waist was trim and her breasts were slightly perkier than any bra could have accomplished. Her make-up was dark around her eyes and her brilliantly whitened teeth made her look even more like a plastic barbie doll.

"_Corrine_?" Arthur spat. He hadn't seen her since she had tried to seduce him in the bedroom he shared with Ariadne. She had been a former school teacher of Daniel's and showed up in the couple's bedroom wearing nothing but Ariadne's diamond necklace.

"When were you going to tell me you were in an accident?" Corrine said quickly.

Her face scrunched up in disgust as she threw a fur lined coat on his bed. Arthur tried to move away from her, but she was too quick. Her hands touching his face and looking for all the world like she actually cared for him.  
>"Arthur, you look <em>awful<em>." she told him. "Why didn't you call me right away?"

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked. He was still lost at seeing Corrine here. He hadn't prepared himself for ever seeing her again.  
>"Well, thank you for answering my question with another question." Corrine said in annoyance.<p>

"Corrine… " Arthur hissed. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay away from us."

"_Us_?" Corrine snapped. "Who is us? You and Cobb?"

Arthur shook his head.

Corrine laughed.

"So, you call me last week for a hook-up, and promise we can work everything out. You give me a diamond bracelet, and now you want me to leave?" she teased him.

Arthur considered his options. Yes, he wanted her to leave. He wanted her to hate him and go away forever.

"Yes." he said quickly.

"Oh, you go to hell!" Corrine snapped. "And I'm not paying you back for the boob job, so stop asking!"

"Terrible boob job." Arthur said truthfully.

"You're such a prick." Corrine said lazily and sat down on his bed. She looked completely nonplused by what he had said and instead, appeared to be making herself at home.

"Arn't you… aren't you leaving?" he asked. He felt annoyed and a little stupid just now.

"No. I was going to spend the night. Have another bought of stress release." she sighed.

"Not this time. Not ever again." Arthur said quickly. He felt slightly sick.

"You always say that. And you always come crying back. Even when I fucked Cobb." she said airily.

"You fooled around with Cobb?" Arthur barked.  
>Corrine laughed.<p>

"You asked me to!" she said with her fantastic white teeth. "Remember? We were all bombed out of our skulls and you asked me to do you a favor? Made him forget about prison right there on the couch while you watched."

Arthur fought the urge to vomit. What kind of person was he in this dream? If he had never married Ariadne, if she had never fallen in love with him, could this really have been his life?

He watched, almost mesmerized as Corrine ran her long fingers up her dress, showing inch by inch her well tones legs. He couldn't look away till her dress finally revealed she wore no panties at all.

"Get out!" he snapped at her.

A look of poisonous anger shadowed her face.  
>"Fine." she spat. "But don't call me again begging me to come and love you because no other woman will!"<p>

"Don't worry!" Arthur shouted back.

He threw open his bedroom door and had to almost throw her out of the apartment. He briefly saw Cobb, looking embarrassed and holding his cell phone to one ear as he showed Corrine to door.

"You're only as lonely as you _deserve_ to be, asshole. You treat women like shit. You turn them into whores and you wonder why you're all alone." Corrine teased him.

Arthur had never wanted to slap a woman so hard in his life.

Instead, he slammed the door in her ugly face.

"That was Ariadne." Cobb sighed.

Arthur's attention was immediately redirected.  
>"What happened? What's wrong?" the point man asked.<p>

"Apparently she's off the wagon again. Got arrested or fighting with her live in girlfriend. The girlfriend threw her out and there was a big scene." Cobb said sadly.

"Is she okay?" Arthur asked.  
>Cobb looked at him strangely.<p>

"She's never okay, Arthur. You know that. We do this once or twice a month." the extractor told him.

Arthur didn't know what to say. His sweet Ariadne was an alcoholic and a mean drunk as well. His nightmare wouldn't end.  
>"Come on, We'll take a taxi since you wrecked the car. Someone has to bail her out." Cobb said sadly.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

7.

~ Arthur was anxious to see Ariadne again. He couldn't quite get used to the idea that she wasn't the Ariadne he had known and loved all these years. The Ariadne in this horrible dream was alien to him. A creature with habits and manners he didn't care for at all.

"When did her drinking get so bad?" Arthur asked Cobb.

Both men were in the back of the cab. The ride to the police station was one of silence and it seemed they both preferred it that way.

"I'm not not really sure." Cobb sighed. The extractor looked out the window for any sort of diversion. The point man did likewise from his side.

"Before the Fisher inception?" Arthur asked.

"I think after. It's not something we talk about." Cobb said. "You were always the one bailing her out while I was in prison."

Arthur nodded. That sounded like him.

"She's been arrested before?" he asked.

Cobb chuckled.

"That's putting it mildly." the extractor said.

~ Ariadne was waiting for them in a holding room. Her thin arms crossed over her thin body. Her short hair was messed up and her face was red and puffy.  
>"I've got to go home and get my shit!" she yelled at Cobb as soon as the two men entered the room.<p>

Arthur was slightly taken aback. He wasn't used to seeing her looking so awful. Wasn't used to her foul use of language and her words slurring so badly.

"Not tonight." Cobb said. "You and Yesenia can work it out after you've sobered up."

"That bitch punched me in the face!" Ariadne shouted. Her tone exactly like Dominic's was when he whined for attention. A childish cry of injustice.

"Obviously." Cobb muttered looking over the black eye that was starting to bloom on her face.

"What happened?" Arthur asked while the Cobb had signed her release papers and paid her fine.  
>"Yesenia was being a bitch!" Ariadne said in a loud voice. She didn't seem to understand volume control just now.<br>"Who's Yesenia? Arthur asked.  
>"A bitch! We have to go back to my place and get my shit! She told me to get my shit and get out! We have to go get my shit!" Ariadne said. She looked on the verge of a drunken temper tantrum. Her steps shaky as she walked.<p>

Instinctively Arthur reached out to steady her.

"Let go!" she shouted at him. Her swift, small hands slapping him away.

"Cut it out. We're taking you back to our place. We've got a cab waiting." Cobb said soberly.  
>"Who's Yesinia?" Arthur asked the Extractor as Ariadne marched ahead of them. A strong cloud of booze floated to him in her wake.<p>

"Her live in girlfriend." Cobb muttered. "Every few months they go through this. They'll make up and be happy in a few days."

"They come to blows first?" Arthur asked.

Cobb shrugged.

"Let's go!" Ariadne shouted once they were outside of the building.

~ Ariadne's drunken anger didn't last longer than it took to help her into the cab. As soon as she was seated, she almost passed out on the point man's shoulder. Arthur hated the smell of alcohol, sweat and what he was sure was vomit.

"You sure we don't need to take her to a hospital?" Arthur asked worriedly. He had never seen her lapse into sleep so quickly.  
>"No, she's fine. She's done this before. It's not like the time she took all those pills and we had to have her stomach pumped.<p>

Arthur was about to ask more about it, when Ariadne shifted slightly and fitted her forehead to his shoulder. For a moment, just a moment, it was like things were before. When they would watch a program on television, and she would curl up next to him. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine he was home with his real wife again.

But nothing could mask her sweaty forehead, or the smell coming off her. Nothing could ease the tension he felt when Cobb looked at him. He had betrayed his best friend, fooled around with a gold digging whore, allowed the only woman he really loved to fall into addiction and possible suicide attempts.

That dark thought occurred to him again on the ride home, and it made his blood run cold in his body.

What if this were real? What if his life with Ariadne had all been a dream? What if that life, his children, the apartment in Paris, Sadie and Eames, his real father, what if all of that was just a flight of his imagination?

It was a horrible idea and one that he tried to push out of his mind. But the idea, once planted, grew like a virus. Worse than a virus. It was like a heavy black crow perched on his shoulder. Cawing at him that this place, this horrible life, was his. That everything he thought was real was just a fantasy.

Worse than all that, this misery was his fault.

~ Ariadne was able to walk to lobby and to the lift.

"Where's she going to sleep?" Arthur asked.  
>"She's going to couch surf the same as she always does." Cobb said with annoyance.<p>

Ariadne has stopped talking and looked too tired to argue. Her face was still swollen and the bruising was starting to darken very badly on her face.

She swayed slightly as though she might fall when the elevator reached their floor.

~ The invalid seemed to know where to go when they arrived at the apartment. She peeled off her jacket and used it as a pillow. Her small body curling on the sofa as if it were her second home. Which, Arthur supposed, it was.

Cobb retreated to his room and shut the door. Arthur, unsure of what to do next, retrieved a small trash can from the bathroom in case she threw up sometime in the night, and a clean blanket from the hall closet.

He covered her up the way he did one of his children. Careful not to wake her as he tucked her in. His finger resting slightly on her hair before he left her.

~ In his room, alone, the point man went through his things again. The old letters his mother had given him weren't anywhere to be found. He had kept them safely stored in a wooden lock box since he she had passed away. Where was the box now? Where were pictures of his mother? Where was her dance trunk with all her scrap books, old programs and journals?

He tried to find something personal of his and failed. There were no pictures anywhere. His laptop was locked and the access code must be something associated with this horrible life.

"Misery, I bet." he muttered to himself as he typed in that word in one last attempt.

It remained locked and he abandoned his efforts to find out his online life. It might be something equally horrifying. Maybe he was a prone addict who played a disturbing amount of World of Warcraft.

"Fuck this." Arthur said.

His felt his teeth clench shut and a cold indifference rise in him. This couldn't be his life. He didn't want it. This couldn't be real.

His hand gun was taped to the bottom of his night stand. He had seen such a move in a movie as a kid and always thought it was cool. Since then, he had always kept his handguns hidden in such a way.

At least he _did_. When they brought Darcy home from New York after they were married, Ariadne dug them all out and kept them in a lock box.

Arthur had to smile at the memory. He could never hide anything from her. She found out all his secrets better than any extractor.

The cold, heavy metal felt comforting in his hands.

He could go back to his Ariadne tonight. Wake up, and be home. His wife sleeping next to him. Everything would be alright and this place would be just a memory.

What if he was wrong?

What if this place was real and he killed himself? What if he shot himself in the head now and there was blackness? Nothing.

No. This life can't be real. The other life is real, it has to be.

"What if it's not?" he whispered to himself.

He made his heart go cold and angry again. He had to do it. It was a risk, but he didn't want to live this life. A traitor to his friend. His precious wife, a drunk who could never love him.

He released the safety and pressed the hard barrel to his temple.

A sharp rap on his door jarred him out of his trance.

He quickly put the safely back on and stashed the gun under the night stand.

"Cobb?" Arthur asked through the door.

"It's me." came a female voice.

Arthur opened his door to see Ariadne. Her hair damp and skin scrubbed clean from a shower.

She looked better, more like herself now. She smelled better to. It seemed it didn't take her long to sober up.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like shit." she spat. "I don't remember much. Can I come in?"

She didn't wait for him to answer, but let herself in. Arthur saw she was wearing his bathrobe. It must have been his. It was too nice to be anything Cobb would wear.

"Look, I'm sorry I've been so hateful to you today. You've always been there for me and I know I don't tell you enough." she said lazily.

Arthur closed the bedroom door.

"Actually, I was thinking I've failed you." he said with a dry laugh. "I should have looked after you more."

"Looked after me?" she laughed. It was like she was teasing him again. "I could have gone to federal prison with Cobb if you hadn't stepped in. No matter what I say, you're a good friend, and I don't tell you that enough."

Arthur wasn't sure what to say to that. It was like he was talking to his buddy and not his wife.

"Well, glad we had this talk." Arthur said.

Ariadne kept eye contact as she undid the sash on the robe and carelessly let it fall to the floor around her ankles.

"You want to fool around?" she asked. Her tone was almost bored. Like she was asking if he wanted to catch a movie.

"Um." Arthur stammered. Her body was so thin, he felt slightly sick. Her ribs were showing, her naked breasts were small and almost deflated looking. She looked nothing like the woman who was he had married.

"I thought… I thought you weren't." he managed to say.

Confusion was too simple a word for it.

"I'm not saying we're in love. Don't get all girly on me." Ariadne snapped. "But a little fucking might be fun."

Arthur blinked.

"You said you… you're a lesbian." he managed.

"So?" she asked.

He shrugged. It was all the questions he needed to ask.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

~ Arthur had always wondered about the sex life of two women. Like all men, he thought it was fascinating and erotic. Even with her thin body and short hair, he also couldn't say no to Ariadne. There was hardly ever a time in their marriage he didn't want to be with her. Now, there was an added bonus of their union being almost forbidden. Like it had been with Eden and when he had dreamed Ariadne wasn't his wife but his secret affair.

Right away, he felt a difference and didn't like it.

**This** Ariadne was too bossy. Too demanding and too in control. She made him kiss her, she didn't allow herself to be taken. None of the passion and lust he had always felt for her was there. Her movements as she undressed him were rough and he felt she was more frustrated than aroused.

When he tried to move her to the bed, she pushed his hands off her body. She didn't want him touching her. She was comfortable in her own skin, but didn't want his contact.

"Wait." Arthur muttered as she pushed him on the bed. He wasn't there yet. He was having trouble. He had never had this problem before and her thin hands, now pulling at his pants, should have helped, but didn't.

"Slow down." he whispered.

She didn't listen and contained to undo his pants.

It took real force to move her hands away from him and make her stop.  
>"I said slow down." he told her a little more harshly than he intended.<br>"Let's jut get this over with." Ariadne sighed. A look of boredom across her face.  
>"Over with?" Arthur repeated. "What is this? What kind of game are you playing?"<p>

"No games." she told him innocently. "Why would you ask that?"

"Ariadne, have you and I ever-"

She snorted a laugh before he could finish. He was going to ask if they had ever had sex before but they way she looked at him, teasing and almost mean, he could tell they hadn't.

"Have you ever had sex with a man before?" he asked gently.

He let go of her wrists and guided her to sit next to him. Despite being naked, she seemed at ease. Her large brown eyes rolled in annoyance and she let out a sigh.

"Well, you seem to know all my secrets. Or think you do." she said. "Why don't you tell me."

"I just doesn't seem like you're…" he tired to find the right words. "Really into this."

"Maybe you just need Viagra." she spat. "Can I sleep here? The couch isn't comfortable."

Arthur watched her crawl naked into his bed and cover herself into a tight cocoon of blankets. He wished he could feel some stirring for her. His own wife could seduce him so well. Even when she didn't know how to please him, when they were first together, she had done these things.

She had known he liked to be in control. She had let him care for her and seduce her as he wanted. She had never acted too lecherous and had always been the perfect lover to him. This girl in his bed now, she did nothing for him.

~ Sometime in the night, Arthur woke. He felt her shift in bed and curl closer to him. Her thin leg wrapping around his. He knew she was awake and he stiffened when she made contact.

He didn't like her touching him. Didn't like her at all.

"Still mad at me?" she whispered.

"No." he said. "I'm not mad at all."

"Remember after Cobb was arrested? You took me to New York and tried to show off this great big townhouse you grew up in? Trying to impress me?" she asked. She gave out a teasing laugh. "You even thought I was going to fuck you that night. All because you had your lawyers come out and get us out of that jam at LAX."

Arthur tried to pull away from her. That was so like him back then. It was easy to impress women with the family home in New York. It had worked a few times before. It must have been a last ditch effort with Ariadne.

"Poor Arthur." she murmured. Her hands were running along his shaft and he was surprised to feel a rush of heat there. He could feel the blood pumping harder and the tingling of an erection starting.

"You could have just said you weren't interested. I bet you strung me along like a puppy." he said miserably.

"No that badly. I made you sleep alone the first night. Most of the first night. I guess I was confused." she said sadly.

"Confused?" he echoed back.

"It happens."

"I thought you've always been this way."

"Oh, I have. But I guess I had to be sure." she laughed.

He took a deep breath as he felt her hand start pumping him. He stiffened slightly. She was too rough again. She didn't have his wife's gentleness. She didn't want to take her time and please him. She jut wanted it over with.

"And now?" he asked.  
>"What are you complaining about?"<p>

"About this." he hissed. He tried to think of how he wished it could be. How it was with Eden, how it was on his honeymoon. This woman was nothing compared to the seductress of his real wife.  
>"Fun." she hissed and kissed him on the cheek.<p>

He was half ashamed of the partial erection she had forced on him. Her strong, yet thin arms pulling the covers off them and her legs wrapping around his body. She impaled herself onto him and he shifted at the feel of her hip bone hitting him. She didn't allow him to touch her body.

Her hands were busy keeping his away from her. She only rode him with no feeling, no desire and no intimacy. She never kissed him again, and made no noise of enjoyment.

Arthur realized he was uncomfortable with her thin bucking hips and tired to shift her off. He wasn't going to come. In fact, he was quickly losing interest and could feel himself going soft despite being inside her.

A though occurred to him he might as well be jerking himself off just now. He would enjoy it more than he was with her.

As if she read his mind, Ariadne seemed to agree that sex with him was a bore and rolled off. He could tell she hadn't climaxed either and her heart hadn't been into the endeavor. It was a bad experience all around.

They lay there, with their backs to each other in silence.

"Maybe you **do **need Viagra." she said bitterly.

"Maybe you need to go home to your girlfriend." Arthur bit back. He didn't like this woman. Whoever she was, she wasn't the girl he loved.

She wasn't the girl he protected from projections in dreams. The fearless architect that could build better dreams than Cobb. She wasn't the skittish lover he had coxed into his bed. She wasn't the wife and mother who nurtured his family and made his life complete.

Ariadne, **his** Ariadne, was everything to him. Change that one detail, and his life was meaningless.

"I'll be going home soon, so it won't matter." he grumbled.

"What? To a dream?" she mocked him.

She moved out of bed and started to get dressed.

"You still think this is a dream, don't you?" she said mockingly.

"I know it's not real." Arthur said.

"Well, why not jump out the window and find out." she said angrily.

"I might just do that."

"What makes you so sure this is a dream anyway?" she asked him.

"It has to be." he said. "Anything has to better than this."


	9. Chapter 9

9.

~ Sleep was a strange thing to Arthur. He knew he was asleep, yet part of his mind was awake and could feel everything around him.

Ariadne had left him for the night. He wan't even sure if she was still at the apartment. He was glad she had gone. It was too strange and unpleasant to think about her just now. He let his mind wander into a formless void. His body felt light as he ventured farther into an unknown blackness.

He sensed the coldness of his room all around him. Knew he was in his own bed and at the same time, could feel something else in the room with him. A bright light shining over him though his closed eyes.

"Arthur?" came a female voice. "Arthur, it's over. It's all over and I'm right here."

His heart leapt with joy at the sound of her voice. He could smell her perfume, feel her hand slipping into his.

"Arthur?" she whispered again.

He opened his mouth to cry out for her, but nothing came out. He was rendered silent and helpless.

"Arthur?" she whispered. "I'm right here."

He opened his eyes at the feeling of his wife's lips on his forehead.

He was back in that cold, miserable bedroom again. His bed empty and nothing familiar or comforting.

It had to be real. It had to be. Nothing was worse than this reality. He would die to get back to his wife and his family.

"Ariadne." he said soberly.

He found his shoes and slipped them on.

"Darcy." he said standing up and quickly moving to the door.

"Dominic." he said louder when he entered the living room.  
>"Arthur?" Ariadne called from her nest on the couch. She was watching a late night infomercial. The glare of the TV off her glasses gave her a strange, alien look.<p>

"Daniel." he said by way of greeting before leaving the apartment.  
>"Arthur, what are you doing?" Ariadne called after him.<p>

"Drew." Arthur said with a cold detachment to this world.

"Arthur?" Ariadne was calling after him. The Point Man yards ahead of her and deciding to take the stairs to the roof.

"Arthur!" she called.  
>As soon as he started to climb the bleak stairwell, he started his chant again.<p>

"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic Daniel, Drew." he said with more confidence than he had ever felt before. It was is totem. His children's names. They were better than any loaded dice. He knew they were real. He remembered their faces when they were born. Remembered so many details. No dreamer could ever create such a life.

"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic, Daniel, Drew." he said easily. Their names sounding good and comfortable in the echo of the stairs.  
>"Arthur?" Ariadne was calling to him. She had followed him to the stairs and he chanced a look bak down at her. Her face looking back up at him. She wasn't his wife. She was a projection designed to stop him.<p>

"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic, Daniel, Drew." he said again.  
>"What the hell are you doing?" she shouted. Her voice carrying through the stairwell. "We're already on the top floor!"<p>

"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic, Daniel, Drew." he said and easily opened the steel door to the roof.  
>"Arthur!" Ariadne shouted at him. Her cries cut off by the roof door slamming shut behind him.<p>

It was cold out here. The wind chill bit into his skin with a painful realness he had never felt in a dream before. In the back of his mind, he doubted himself. He doubted if he would really wake up if he jumped.

With his own brand of stubbornness, he marched to the ledge and his stomach clenched at the dizzying sight below.

He was at least fifty stories up. The headlights from cars looked like the blinking lights on a christmas tree.

"Arthur! Oh my God, Arthur get down from there!" Ariadne was shouting.

He turned to see the thin architect carefully approaching him. She looked scared for the first time.

"Ariadne." he said.

"Yes. It's me." she said with a worried voice. Her lips trembled slightly and her eyes were wide with fear. "Come back down."

"I have to go home to Ariadne." he said numbly.

"**I'm **Ariadne." she said. "Arthur, I was teasing before. You know this is real. If you jump, you won't wake up. You know that. Deep down, you know you'll die."

He shook his head.  
>"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic, Daniel, Drew." he said in a detached monotone.<br>"What? Arthur, what are you talking about?" Ariadne shouted. A gust of cold wind blew up and almost made the point man lose his balance.

"I have to get home to them. My children. They need me." he said.  
>"Arthur, you <strong>are<strong> home. You have no children!" Ariadne was shouting.  
>He shook his head.<p>

"Arthur! Come down right now!" she screamed.

"Ariadne, Darcy, Dominic, Drew." he said.  
>"Arthur!" she screamed.<p>

"They need me. I can't just die and leave them alone." he said.

"Arthur!" Ariadne shouted. "You're going to die if you jump! Look, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I said before. I didn't mean it!"

He couldn't hear her anymore. The wind that was blowing on him now sounding like ocean waves.

"Arthur!" she screamed.

But all he could hear now was a baby crying. Of wild, little boys running on hardwood floors. Of ballet music and children laughing. Of Ariadne, his own Ariadne telling him she was there.

With perfect trust, he stepped off the ledge. His body instantly plummeting downward. The momentum building until he couldn't stand it anymore. The cold wind, Ariadne screaming, the few seconds of doubt before he hit the pavement. His body exploding into an blinding array of pain.

Then, there was nothing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue **

**20 years later…**

_*Lilly Collins as Drew_

~ Drew hated to fly. She also hated the crowds of sticky, sweaty people. Hated being high in the air in a pressurized cabin with no way out. She didn't want to die in a plane crash. There was nothing romantic and mysterious about that.

"Last time I go to Paris on one of mother's orders." she told herself.

She was happy to have flown first class however. It entitled her to a nicer waiting rooms. The people were cleaner and less noisy. It was worth the extra money for that luxury.

She re-did her make up and styled her too short hair in the bathroom mirror before her flight. Who knows? She might meet someone on the trip. Stranger things had happened in the world. Her own parents met on a first class flight from Sydney to LA. Ten hours together with just the two of them talking. Her father's long time friends had fallen asleep on the trip and left her parents alone.

Drew had always loved hearing that story as a child. Loved the way her mother described how handsome her father was. That he had dressed for the flight in a full on suit. Something no one did anymore.

She wished she hadn't had to check all her bags. Especially the one with her flat iron. Her hair just didn't want to behave today. It didn't help that the stupid stylist just kept cutting and cutting. She had given Drew bangs and cut her luxurious dark hard so short, small cowlicks were rebelling and curling outward.

Still, she did resemble Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday". There was no denying that. She smiled back at her reflection with pleasure. She had always liked the way she looked. All through her childhood and teen years, her looks had been her best feature. Something people noticed about her right away. It gave her an edge in life that most people didn't.

Her modeling contract at sixteen only cemented that fact.

She carefully applied bright red lipstick to her full lips. Thank God she had her mother's natural good looks and her father's hight and slender frame. Wouldn't it be awful if it were the other way around? Never mind modeling, how hard would life be if she were an ugly woman?

Drew shook her head at the idea. Her wispy locks falling carelessly and gracefully around her face.

'_Just like Audrey_.' she thought happily. She even had the right sort of eyebrows and face. Maybe she should talk to her agent about playing Audrey Hepburn in a movie. That was the next thing for her. Acting.

But no action movies or anything with special effects. She wanted romantic comedies or serious dramas where she was the lead, not just the bond girl type. She would start off with feel good romance, and then the right role would find her in some historical drama. The role she was born to play.

As long as there was no nudity. Drew felt there was no point to all the skin showing in films now. She wasn't going to be one of those actresses who flashed her boobs just to win an oscar.

'_I'll have to remember that when I'm interviewed after my oscar win._' she told herself. '_Wait, who should I take with me to the ceremony and after parties?_'

She mentally scrolled through a list of leading men.

'_Well, it won't matter. Everyone will be looking at me anyway. Drew Daniels. The actress with integrity._' she smiled at the idea.

She had decide long ago that she would drop the name Castus in favor of her grandmothers last name. It wasn't catchy enough for a serious career. Darcy had agreed with her when she announced that she would be going as Drew Daniels for her professional career.

The reaction at home was not pleasant.

Her cell phone dinged with a text message. That special ding assigned to family only. Her most calls went strait to voice mail, but family had to enter a special code to even get her phone to ring.

She hated answering phones. It was such a low class thing to be enslaved to. To be disturbed by a vulgar ringing phone. Some stranger calling. Her agent or worse, some boyfriend who she didn't even really like.

Drew checked her caller ID. It was Daniel. Her older brother never called anyone. He liked to text people on his little smart phone and expected them to text back instantly.

She rolled her eyes again. How old school was texting? No one texted anymore.

'**In Paris. Getting a Cab. See you at home.**' it said.

It might as well have been an old fashioned morse code like the ones from the Titanic.

She felt her face smile at the idea. She should do a remake of that old movie "Titanic". It has already been decades since it was out. It was time for a modern update.

She heard the boarding call for her flight.

She hated flying.

She smoothed out her blue shift travel dress. Almost exactly like the one Audrey Hepburn wore in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and left her reflection for another time.

~ The first class people were already boarding when she left the bathroom. She slung her high end leather purse across her arm and walked fearlessly to the gate.

That was how Drew Daniels did things. She didn't wait to be polite. Waving at other people to go ahead. She was young, rich and soon to be very famous.

She brushed past a business man in a blue suit. Her boarding pass handed lazily to the attendant. They wouldn't stop her. She belonged here, and they knew it.

Her mind registered the business man's nice suit before she entered first class seating. Very well tailored on a very confidant body. She was a little intrigued. Stories of how her parents met coming back to her.

She looked back for a second at the man in the blue suit. He was older than her, but not too old. Thirty maybe. He looked annoyed that she had walked past him.

'_Good._' she thought and turned back to her seat.

She pretended to look through her purse as the man in the blue suit walked past her. Their bodies almost touching.

He was handsome. But not overly so. More like ruggedly good looking. She worked with male models all the time, so she was used to good looking people. All of the models were very pretty to look at, but they were vapid, stupid and only cared about sex. She was sick of pretty boys with no brains. Drew wanted a man.

"Miss. You dropped these." the man in the blue suit said.

Drew pretended only a vague interest in him and saw he was holding her sun glasses.

"Oh." she said lazily. "How kind."

She took her sun glasses from him and looked away.

He looked awkward for a moment. Just standing there.

She decided to have mercy on him.

"Would you be a lamb and get us some campaign before take off? I hate to fly and it would be nice to have someone to talk to." she said easily.

She took a quick look at his hands. No wedding ring or tan line on his finger. He was too well dressed for a married man anyway.

He looked relived to be given a job. A chance to sit with her and talk to her during the flight. She was making it easy for him.

"I'm not sure they'll serve us yet." he said stupidly.

'_How worthless are you?_' she thought angrily. But her pretty face didn't show a crack of disappointment.

"It would be so nice if you could do that. I'm sure they would let you, just this once." she said hopefully. She gave him her best, most content smile.

He grinned back and she saw his face darken to a shade of red. She had won.

"Let me see what I can do." he said gently.

~ His name was Oliver Andrews. He was a freelance investment banker and he knew she was a model just by looking at her.

Drew pretended, as she always did, that she was stupid when it came to money.

"Now, what does an investment banker **do**?" she asked with a painful amount of fake interest.

"Oh, we tell people how to invest their money." he said.

"Stocks?" she asked.

"Yes, exactly." he said helpfully.

"Hopefully not in that Wild Fox group. I mean, people lost millions in that scheme. It seems to me, that basic stock trading is a lose-lose investment. I've found it's much more profitable to place capital in less risky ventures. Reputable investors will give you slow return on things, but I've never lost a dime this way. Quick money is for the greedy and it's always best to treat it like gambling. You're far more apt to lose as you are to win."

Oliver's face fell slightly.

"I thought you were a model." he said.  
>"Oh I am." Drew said happily. "I made over two million my first year of work and I was only sixteen. I think it was smart to place all that money in a trust until I was twenty one. Because I was a minor, I didn't have to pay taxes till I took it out. I mean, when you're a working model, trust me, you don't have to pay for anything anyway. Vogue even put me up in an apartment in Manhattan for a year, for free!" she laughed. "I even had a charge account! It was nuts. No, my lawyers and accounts shield me from all those stock schemes. They are way too old fashioned to jump on some stupid speculation. They know about inflated profits and misleading share holders. But I'm sure that's something you wouldn't do just to get your… what is it fifteen percent?"<p>

"Ten." he said coldly.

"Ten?" she look embarrassed for him. "Well, maybe if you keep pushing those penny stocks, you can get a better rate. Just don't go to prison for it."

She smiled sweetly at him.

Oliver Andrews, freelance investment banker, leaned away from her. He looked slightly embarrassed.

Drew shrugged, kicked off her simple black flats and opened her French copy of Vogue. She was in one of the ads for Dior this month. Her face, wearing clean make-up and floating in water like a mermaid somehow advertising highly over priced fragrance.

Oliver Andrews, was ignoring her, which was just as well. He talked to her like she was stupid. Just because she was pretty, didn't mean she wasn't smart. But she made him pay for his mistake. Even though she had been a pretty girl all her life, didn't mean she was a stupid girl. Her newly minted bachelors degree in economics from NYU proved that.

'_He jut wants a some fling anyway._' she told herself. '_Best not to waste your time on him._'

Still. It would be nice to have a real boyfriend to bring home to meet the family.


	11. Chapter 11

_* David Franco as Daniel_

~ Emma loved the light in Daniel's apartment. The large floor to ceiling windows let in natural light all day and held a fantastic view of the park.

The irony of such a view in the apartment of a blind man, was a good natured joke with their peers. World famous classical musicians came to London just for the chance to play next to her fiancé and get to know the man behind the supposed genius.

She looked over her plain, uninteresting face. Her whole life she had this face. She had no natural beauty. She was average hight and build. She wasn't graced with good hair or skin. Her figure wasn't her best feature either. Her breasts were too small compared to her hips. Or, so she always feared.

However, none of that mattered to Daniel. He had a way of making her feel beautiful. She wasn't sure how he did it, it was one of his mysteries.

She had been only eighteen when she came to London. A scholarship student trying out for a chair in a new private orchestra. Daniel had been the quite, unassuming man behind the exquisite grand piano.

He sat quietly listening to the instructor give direction. Explaining what was expected. She had no idea who he was until his fingers began to dance across the keys.

She gasped at the fluid nature of his playing and missed her mark.

Daniel, had been less than kind with his remarks about that.

"We jump in at the break. Am I right?" he barked at the room in general. He was so young, he looked barely out of high school and he seemed to have command of the whole room.  
>"Lets take it from the top!" the instructor shouted at the group.<p>

This time, Emma hit her mark. Her ten years of playing the violin paying off. Her fingers barely able to keep up with him.

"Better." Daniel had snapped. "Next!" he shouted.

She was excused and nearly burst into tears as she left the audition.

"Daniel Castus." one girl whispered out in the hall.

"The grandson of the composer, what was his name?" another youth said.

"Albert Castus. He was really famous."

"My mother had all his albums."

"He's so_ young!_ I can't believe he's got his own orchestra." said another girl.

"That's not the half of it. You know he's blind, right?"

Emma left the audition. She had tried, and failed miserably. She couldn't compete with these people. This was for serious students of music. Not just a hobby that would help them get into a good school.

She was shocked she had gotten a call back notice. Her next audition going much better.

She had knocked on the door to the music room and heard the blind genius shout to come in.

"Name?" he demanded.

"Emma Lewis." she said with a shaky breath.

His fingers touched a watch face on his wrist. He didn't look at the time, he felt the raised numbers of brail.

"Thank you for being on time." he said cooly.

She wanted to say something, but couldn't. She was looking at him. He could be considered handsome. His hair was the color of dark honey and his face was cleanly shaven. Not a trace of stubble from an electric razor. Did he do that himself? No, it was far more likely that he went to a barber and got his face professionally shaven.

He glanced at his eyes. He couldn't see, so what was the harm? He kept them half closed. His ears giving her attention and not his sightless eyes. She caught a glimpse of deadness under the lids. Of milky whiteness where there should have been color.

What color should his eyes have been? Green? Blue?

No, based on his olive coloring, brown would have been more likely.

"Are you done staring?" he asked. His voice sharp and breaking the stillness.

She jumped and realized he had somehow caught her.

"I'm sorry." she stuttered.

"Don't worry about it. It's always good to let them gawk. Get it out of the way." he said. His voice was not amused.

"It's just that, I've never met anyone who was blind. Let alone a performer. Well, one who could play as well as you do."

"Yes, yes. I'm an inspiration." Daniel said cooly. He didn't seem amused by that either. He turned back to his piano and his long fingers effortlessly hit keys that created a melody.

"Your place in my performances will be to bring out certain sections of harmony. I've attained a grant to start touring and try to change classical music. Try to find it's audience again." he explained. "No one likes classical music and those that say they do, are liars. My job, is to prepare new songs, and hopefully new audiences for it. Do you understand?" he asked.

"Ambitious." she said simply.

"Yes." he agreed. "Your resume said that you've only studied the violin for a decade. Why did you start so late?"

"Parents couldn't afford to send me to music lessons. I got a scholarship." she explained. She was failing. He was going to laugh at her and tell her to leave.

"How many hours are you willing to devote to this endeavor?" he asked.  
>"I'm willing to put off school for it, so all of them." she answered.<p>

He seemed skeptical.

"Most of us train eight hours a day. Eight hours a day happily. You might find it a bit difficult if you're only used to a few hours a week." he said. "Maybe this isn't for you."

"We can certainly try." she said pitifully. "I'm sure there are others out there who are much more experienced."

"Oh yes, loads more." he barked. "Trouble is, they are too ridged. Too set in their ways and bad habits. This is new territory here. I can't have a fleet of classical musicians who are unwilling to learn new things."

"I'm willing to devote as much time as you need." she said at last. The idea of a new style of music was thrilling, and she wanted to please him.

"We shall see." he sighed. "Now, I'm going to start playing a piece, I want to test your instincts. Jump in when you feel you need to, but do not over power me."

His orders were clear and almost cold.

He stomach felt ready to flip.

He played beautifully. Notes floated up low and easy. Like breathing. She recognize a melody, heard it repeat itself and on the third bridge, joined him. Her music making his stronger.

She had never had sex in her life, but this was the closet thing she had ever come to making love. It was beautiful.

When they stopped, she was crying softly.

"Come back tomorrow." Daniel said. He didn't tell her she had done well. Didn't turn his head to face her.

"Send in the next person on your way out." he ordered.

~ For weeks it was like that. Finally, she was accepted into his exclusive group. She was among raw, untapped talent. Young people who were in rock bands before this. A woman who played the harp in a restaurant to pay the bills, and two young guitarists who were handsome and far too flirtatious.

It was a dream. A beautiful dream of wild music with no rules. Daniel's style was classic, yet unique. She could imagine dancers on stage when he played. But also snow falling in desolate lands. Of tragic and joyful wonders with each new melody.

No lyrics, no catch. Just raw emotion being recorded.

~ Over the next few months, Emma got to know the others in their group. The rocker boys flirted with her shamelessly, and she thought she caught a look of anger on Daniel's face at that.

Once when they were walking to the bus stop, he used public transport easily, he asked her about it.

"They like you." he said stiffly.

"No." she laughed. "They just like to show off. They like all the girls to look at them."

"So you're not dating them?" he asked.

"No." she said. "I'm too busy spending all my time with you."

She had meant it as a joke, but he looked angry again.

She had gotten used to his dark moods. He looked like someone who thought too much. Who's mind was always working. She often teased him about it. A thing no one else in the group dared to do.

For whatever reason, he let her talk to him as though they were equals.

He made little excuses to keep her later than the others. Often ordering take out for the both of them. He was very pleasant when he wanted to be. When they was alone.

"Tell me about your family." he asked.

"In America. Divorced. I have a half sister from my dad's first marriage. A half brother from my mother's third. Modern families." she shrugged.

"Must have been hard." he said.

"Well, I never really got to know my half siblings. I was raised an only child by my grandmother. What about you?"

"Two sisters." he admitted. One older, one younger. Also a brother. We were born a year apart, so we're very close."

"That's good." Emma said. She wondered what it was like to have a big family. "What do they do?"

"My older sister Darcy, used to dance in the New York ballet. Even spent some time in the Russian company."

"Wow!" Emma said. "So she's a professional?"

"Very much so." he said soberly.

~ It was clear he liked her. Clear he was jealous of the other men in the company. He would shout at everyone but her. He ignored her while the others were around, and wanted her all to himself when they were alone.

She was flattered by the attention. He was a brilliant man. Maybe a little anti social, but still brilliant. When he wanted to take her to bed, it was written clearly on his face.

He was terrible at hiding things from her. He had many mysteries, but his feeling for her were not one of them. She was touched that he was so god to her. That he was humble in the way he spoke to her. Like she had all the power in the world.

Then, there was the way he touched her, the way he made her feel was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

He had never seen her face. Never seen how awkward she looked in out of fashion clothes, but his touch made her beautiful. Like cinderella being enchanted before the ball. She bloomed with each caress and kiss.

His apartment was a world of darkness. He never turned on lights and maneuvered around his home with ease. He knew where everything was and could cook for himself. She even discovered that he shaved himself with a strait razor each morning. His sightless eyes half closed while his hands guided the sharp razor.  
>"I won't cut myself." he teased. She had been standing in the doorway of the bathroom watching him shave himself in the dark. "I never do."<p>

"I can't believe you can do that." Emma said fearfully.

"I was born blind. My parents had me enrolled at a special school before I could even walk." he said simply.  
>"Piano to?" she asked.<p>

"My grandfather taught me how to play. Took me on tour with him and everything. After that, I was hooked." he explained.

He was in a much better mood now that she was sleeping with him. He woke happier and more content than she had ever remembered him being. His music improved and he was nicer to the other players.

Emma wondered about his childhood. It must have been difficult to have a son born blind. How had they managed with other other children in the house?

She had yet to meet his parents then and Daniel hardly'[ spoke of them, or his childhood.

~ After a year and a half, he had asked her to marry him. He had given her a simple diamond ring because he was afraid a large stone would harm her playing.

"I guess I can marry you." she sighed. A happiness stirring inside her at the idea of being with this man forever.

Of his large hands running over her body forever. His calloused fingers tickling her skin when she got dressed in the morning. How he could always tell when she had fancy new under ware on. His hands exploring her body with curiosity and depth that it took her breath away.

She had no means of comparison, but she wondered if sighted men made love as well as Daniel did.

~ Emma tired to put on lipstick and failed at it. It was too red. What was she thinking? Her freckles stuck out too much and she should have had a professional select her colors. Nothing went with her copper colored hair. Her dress didn't fit right, and her makeup would never work.

She heard her fiancé come in the living room. Funny to think of him like that. Their black cat, Nox, meowing for attention at his feet.

The cat had been a gift to him. He had always liked cats, but never had one in his life. Apparently his parents were strictly opposed to the idea.

She had wondered why he didn't have a seeing eye dog. A companion to help him through the maze of London. She had only asked once, and Daniel very quickly, and bitterly told her he didn't like dogs.

Nox was clingy and needy but a sweet cat. He liked attention and would curl up in bed with Daniel. Her fiancé rubbing his hand over the soft black fur.

"Are we ready?" Daniel asked.  
>"As I'll ever be." Emma said sadly.<p>

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." he told her.

"I'm meeting your mother for the first time. You said so yourself, you're the one she doted on." Emma told him.

His mother was going to hate her. She had never seen pictures of the woman, Daniel had no need, but she could imagine her as a ridged person. Someone who had to be strong and protective of her blind son. A fearful, tall matriarch with steely eyes.

"That's only because I was the cute one." he explained.

Emma rolled her eyes.  
>What if his mother hated her? What if she felt that she wasn't good enough for her son? Emma wiped off the lipstick and put on Chapstick instead.<p>

"Alright, I'm ready." she said bravely.

Daniel took her hand, shouldered his bag and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry. It's just a short trip to Paris. We'll be home on Monday. She'll love you." he said.


	12. Chapter 12

_James Franco as Dominic_

~ Sometimes, it was better to be the forgotten child of the family. Sometimes, it was better to be the one who was lost in the shuffle of children.

Dominic's sister had leukemia at a young age, his brother was born blind and his youngest sister might have been an accident, yet was babied more than anyone.

Somewhere, in all that drama, Dominic was forgotten.

He couldn't complain much. The energies his parents spent on his other siblings meant they had little time for him. It meant he could get away with more. It was a loophole he used to his advantage as he grew up.

He spent every summer, like it or not, at some kind of camp meant to make him a more well rounded person. He learned wilderness survival, sailing, music, farming and when he was sixteen, he even went to creative writing camp. But this was only because his crush from school was going there, and he wanted to seem more interesting.

Truthfully, Dominic was the least interesting one in the family. He had no natural talents or gifts. He wasn't like his brother who even with the blindness, seemed to excel at everything he tried. His sister Darcy had found her talents early on and became famous for it.

Drew was not just pretty, but smart to. She was allowed to skip a grade in school and didn't have to rely on her looks if she didn't want to.

Dominic was different. He had tried and failed at piano. Tries and failed at horseback riding, tried and failed at painting, sculpting, drawing, carpentry, computers and even that stupid creative writing camp. His crush had fallen for a mother guy there who was far better at writing than he was. It was a total disaster.

When he was eighteen, instead of planning for his senior year, his entire school career had been a walk, he did fine academically without trying, he dropped out.

His decision had been rash and in done in secret. Instead, he joined with some older friends who were sailing around the world. It had been an impulse he had thought would get him some much needed attention at home.

Instead, the problems seemed to get worse.

His brother was mad he didn't take him with him and as for the rest of the family, it was like something broke between them. It was never the same again.

He spent a few years on his sailing adventure. He tended bar in South America, helped missionaries in Africa, and even found new religion in India.

He wanted to go to University, but lacked any ambition to do it. Life was waiting for him and he couldn't sit in a classroom for four years and read books by dead white guys.

He learned new skills he had never dreamed of, saw the world and fell in love many, many, many times.

When he finally returned to Paris, his homecoming wasn't the best. It was why he always hated coming home to Paris. The fracture in the family was still there with regard to him. He wasn't that good son. That was Daniel, he wasn't the baby, that was Drew. he certainly wasn't the one his parent trusted. That was Darcy. So, he avoided Paris, and only grudgingly called home on the holidays.

Dominic had been living in Tokyo for the past five years, and he loved everything about it. The stimulating lights, the fast pace of everyday life and always feeling like he was in the future.

Coming home to Paris, a place he hadn't thought of as home since he was a teenager, felt strange. Paris never changed. No mater how modern, how advanced the rest of the world became, Paris remained timeless. The driver drove too slowly, the shop windows were boring, and the lights? Sure it was pretty and glittered and all that crap, but in Japan, he could walk around the city at midnight and it would be just as crowded as noon.

There was so much to do and see. He didn't even mind his shoe box sized home. He only used it for sleeping anyway. He was too busy to just hang out at home.

Dominic slumped in the back of the taxi. Just for fun, he had looked through the magazines at the airport before his flight and found his baby sister's new ad.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful and he was proud of her. She and always been a pretty little girl, the apple of their father's eye, but Dominic had never forgiven her for stealing all the attention away.

It was hard enough living in a home where his brother was fussed over and worried about every second of everyday, the same with his older sister. Then, to have Drew come along and rob the rest of his parent's time was the last straw.

Dominic naturally acted out, but his offenses were mild. He never got caught for fighting. He beat kids up, sure, but he never got caught. He never got in trouble with a girl. Something his mother had worried about. He hadn't turned to a life of crime as an adult. Well, not _technically_ a life a crime.

Besides, if you don't get caught, everything's legal. His uncle Eames had told him that when Dominic needed start up capital for his endeavor in Japan.

Dominic caught his reflection in the window of the cab. He didn't like the way he looked these days. He was looking less and less like his mother and more and more like his dad. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

He had gotten too much sun the past few years, and had fine lines around his eyes. He also hadn't been eating right. Too much processed food. He hadn't been feeling right lately, nose bleeds and headaches. His doctor telling him no more drinking, smoking and to eat better. Dominic ignored the advice and told no one but Alma.

He was sure Daniel would look better. Wasn't Daniel always the perfect one?

'_Stop that_.' he told himself. In truth, he loved his brother. The two of them had always been close. But things changed sharply when they were younger. Daniel found his gift and left Dominic out in the cold. His little brother went to a special school away from him and soon enough, he wasn't like a brother to him at all. Just someone he shared a room with during the school year.

They became so different. Like they weren't even related. When he was a teenager, Dominic often felt like he could be lifted out of the family, without anyone noticing.

Hell, he had sailed around the world, lived in Greece, South America and finally Japan and only received post from the family at Christmas.

He immediately scolded himself for thinking he wasn't loved. He never wrote or called anyone in the family. Never stayed on the social networks. Hardly checked his email.

Daniel had even said to him last week, "The lines of communication go both ways. Who exactly are you hiding from?"

Dominic has sighed. His hangover not helping. It felt like marbles were in his brain just now.

"No one." he said irritably.

"You're not in trouble are you?" Daniel had asked.

"No. I know that's all anyone thinks I'm good for." he had snapped.

"No one thinks that." Daniel had said gently. His little brother was always patient and kind. Like an old man in a young man's body.

"Dom," his brother said gently. "There's just been this wall between us. We used to be close."

"We used to be." Dominic said gruffly. "But we're grown up now. We don't exactly share the same room anymore. Hell, we don't even live in the same country."

He was done talking with his brother.

He wanted to shout at him for being the favorite. For being the clear favorite in the family, but didn't. Daniel didn't ask to be born blind. Didn't ask for all the attention. Darcy didn't ask for her cancer as a child either.

Dominic in Tokyo, his youngest sister now living in LA, his brother in London and his oldest sister in New York. It was moving heaven and earth to get all of them together agin.

Dominic wondered what the big deal was. Why they were all needed at home so quickly. A bitter little ball in his chest telling him he was only invited as an afterthought.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he wished the cab driver would drive faster. Why was everything so slow?

Dominic pulled free the latest phone technology from his pocket and saw his girlfriend, Alma was calling.

"You were supposed to call me when you landed." she said in her careful english.

Dominic had met her when he was in India many years ago. He was only twenty and she was fifteen. It was sort of romantic in an odd way. Her father was an abusive man to the child, and Dominic had helped to get her to a safer home environment. They had a nice connection then, nothing romantic at the time. It was five years latter that they met by chance in Australia. She was a medical student and he was suffering from alcohol poisoning.

Without question she took him in and nursed him back to health.

He wasn't able to stop drinking completely, but Alma gave him more stability in life.

He always knew that he would marry her one day, but the idea seemed like a joke to both of them. Alma Petel could do better than Dominic Castus. She was a beautiful, educated, intelligent, exotic woman who didn't need him. But they stayed together because it was easy. It was easy to live with her and be with her. No pressure to make it more.

Only recently had Alma started to drop hints that maybe they should get married.

"I know, I had trouble getting a cab." Dominic said lamely.

"I don't understand why I couldn't have gone with you." she said sadly. "You know, all this time, I've never met your family."

"They're not mush to meet, Alma. It's just a family dinner and then I'll be on the next flight home. Trust me, I'm a real asshole when it comes to the family anyway."

"You're an asshole when you're not with them, so what's the difference?" she teased him.

He smiled. Alma got him. She understood him completely.

"It's just… I would have liked to meet them. We've been together for so long no. It's strange. Makes me wonder that we're not as committed as I wanted." she said in her rich accent.

"Let's not do this again." Dominic sighed. "We'll talk about it when I get back."

"Well, hopefully I'll still be here." she sighed and there was a crack in the line, and she was gone.

Dominic hated to be put into a corner like this. He didn't want a wife. Didn't want a family. It just wasn't… him. He was a lone wolf who didn't mind sharing his life with someone like Alma, but didn't feel he needed to label it.

He felt his pulse quicken as his taxi pulled into the still quite and trendy neighborhood he had grown up in.

His family's apartment, huge and impressive, loomed over the tiny black cab.

"We're here." his cabbie said.


	13. Chapter 13

_Keri Russel as Darcy_

~ Darcy Rosenbaum Cobb loved her town car. It was a novelty, spur of the moment gift to herself when she came to New York at only eighteen. At the time, she had just come into her inheritance, and was a wealthy woman while still a teenager.

It was impressive to arrive at dance practice in a high end luxury car complete with a personal driver. Most of her peers took the subway or bus to rehearsal. The novelty of it never wore off for her, and she had no reason to let go of her car or it's driver.

"You know our flight leaves soon, Darc." James said gently.

Her husband knew the routine whenever they were uptown. Why was he questioning her now?  
>"Few more minutes." she told him. She heard him sigh heavily and try to read the news from his cell phone.<p>

"Drew Daniels was finally sighed to some new perfume distributor." he said.

"Yes, I'm sure that's all she'll want to talk about when we get to Paris." Darcy said sadly. "That and all the fabulous people she meets in LA."

"Well, there are a lot of fabulous people in LA." he said. "Maybe we could spend a few weeks up there."

"No." she said coldly. Her eyes locked on the shinny double doors to a law office she had never been in. Not a week went by lately that she didn't have her driver take her here. The pair of them sitting in hushed silenced and waited.

Her husband had tried to break her out of this habit. It wasn't good for her and they both knew it.

"Maybe we could stay in Paris for a little while longer. We could see Phillipa and her son. Hang out with Dad and Sarah." James offered.

Drew looked back sadly at her husband. He had loved her since they were children and she and Phillipa wouldn't let him play with them. He had always been her rock. She had never realized it until it was almost too late.

"It's not my place to say this, but have you thought about going in?" he asked at last.

"Why would I go in?" Darcy replied cooly.

James smiled his gentle smile. The same kind of smile that made Darcy like him as a friend and husband.

"Well, beats sitting here." he offered.

"We'll go in a minute." she said. She was feeling annoyed now.

They had a flight to Paris to catch, a long plane ride and they were already running late.

She stopped breathing when she saw the blonde lady emerge from the law office. Her light hair streaked with silver, her face showing sighing of wrinkles and sags.

Darcy shifted in her seat. Trying to conceal herself so that the woman wouldn't recognize her. She needn't have bothered. The windows on her expensive car were tinted and no one could see in.

Darcy Rosenbaum Cobb, watched Becky Lawson, her biological mother, leave the law office were she worked.

Why she had such an interest in this woman, Darcy couldn't explain. It was her dirty secret. A thing she could never tell anyone. No one would understand her fascination with this woman. A woman she remembered hurting her. A woman she never thought of as he mother.

Ariadne was her mother. Always had been. When she pictured going home, it was to Paris. To the lovely apartment in the city where she grew up. So, why was she so fascinated by this woman? This woman who had thrown her away more than once. Who had hurt her so badly so many times.  
>Darcy felt a pain at seeing the twin boys with blond hair running to catch up to the older woman. They were about ten years old now. The result of Becky finding a husband and the two of them starting their own family late in life.<p>

Darcy had a hard time accepting that her birth mother had another family. She worried for the boys at first. Worried that Becky would harm them. But when she stalked them on a social network or spied on them from her car, the boys looked fine and happy.

Her half brothers. Half brothers who most likely didn't know she existed.

Why did Becky Lawson get a happy ending in life after she beat her first child bloody? Why did she get a nice husband and a career when she tried to murder Darcy's adoptive mother in a bathtub? Why did Becky Lawson get two perfect little boys and Darcy had…

"I think we should go now." James said suddenly.

Darcy had sagged in her seat. A feeling of rejection and sadness creeping over her.

"Alright." she whispered.

James tapped on the glass separating the driver from the passenger and the car pulled effortlessly into traffic. Darcy watched Becky and her two boys get into a cab. That little family looking so normal and happy. It wasn't fair.

"Look at me." James said in a kind voice.

Darcy, grudgingly turned to her husband. He was his own father all over again. The same blue eyes, the same handsome face of Dom Cobb in a younger, better version.

"This is the last time we do this, Darc." he said gently. "It's not good for you. If you want to talk to Becky, make an appointment with her law office and see her. Ask her all the questions you want. Come to some kind of resolution that way, but this has to stop."

"It's just not fair." Darcy said. A sob threading to come out.

James took her hand and kissed it.  
>"I know." he said softly.<p>

~ The airport was crowded and hummed with activity. That was just how Darcy liked it. She lived for the hurried distractions. The people with their war weary lives and almost attention deficit rush. She felt normal among all the chaos. As though she were the only sane one in a sea of insanity.

Darcy Rosenbaum Cobb, had kept her legal last name even when the family had changed it to Castus, never flew first class or private. She didn't mind blending in with the masses. Her husband, tall, blond and handsome, stood out too much wherever he went. He looked like he belonged on a beach somewhere. Maybe dressed in a billowy white shirt and married to a stylish brunette.

She wondered why he husband still loved her so much. She wasn't anything like she used to be. He lived in New York, a city he didn't like, for her. Worked in banking which he didn't care for because it helped her company.

He still loved her and she often wondered why.

When she was younger, when she was a talented dancer, she was no different than Drew. Self absorbed, haughty and far too indulged.

When James had moved to New York and awkwardly confessed his love for her, she had laughed in his face. She was too good for him. It had seemed like a joke and she hand embarrassed him for trying to swoop her off her feet.

Life had changed when her second diagnosis of cancer came back.

They had run all the tests to be sure. The family notified and Darcy went to live in Paris for several months during her treatment. She had stayed with Sadie and Eames, a far more easy going couple. Sadie was her bone marrow donor and they would have to be the last time a donation could be made. Sadie Eames was almost too old now for this kind of thing to be helpful.

The treatment was harsh and brutal. She didn't lose her hair, thanks to new technology, but her body had taken a beating from the year of treatments. Her feet and hands were always numb now. Her joints ached like she was an old woman. But she had lived though it.

Yet, even though her life had been saved, it was a heavy cost.

She would never dance like she did before. Her body couldn't handle the riggers of practice and performance. She had to retire at only twenty five.

Her looks were the next casualty. Her skin lost all of the natural color it once had. Now, it was gray and she looked so much older than she should. Her hair, once the envy of all who saw it, the thing that set her apart, refused to curl like it once did. It became thin and weak. She had to keep it short because she was so prone to split ends.

With her career and her looks over, her friends were the next to leave. It was over for them as soon as her cancer came back anyway. They were a fickle crowd who only loved you when you were on top.

Yet, here was James Cobb again. He was living with his parents still in Paris and seeing her everyday. He took her to the movies. Alway the shows she wanted to see. He brought her flowers every week and wasn't embarrassed to see her on her bad days. When she was sick and nothing of the beauty she had once been.

One day, teasingly, she had said that she wanted to be married before she died. It had been a hard winter for her with the treatments, and she thought death was close for her. James had offered to go along with the joke, and here they were. Her husband and wife, all this time later.

He had stood by her when she was sick, and celebrated when her cancer went into remission and she wanted to go back to New York.

Even with all that had happened to her, she couldn't be too angry at the world. She had James which would have been enough, but she also inherited a large share in a company that seemed to do nothing but make money. Her parents had always refused to tell her the unsavory details about her real parentage, but it seems the old man, long dead now, had only one blood relative. That was Darcy Rosenbaum Cobb.

She had the option of refusing all of it, but why? It was nice to have money. To never worry about bills or rent or cash for a cab.

After her cancer, Darcy had stopped buying expensive perfume, handbags and clothes. Instead, she dressed as plain a possible. Nothing about her stuck out now. She was a typical New Yorker. She was sure her mother, her true mother, would want to buy her clothes once she landed in Paris anyway.

If there was one thing Ariadne was good at, it was trying to fix Darcy. She had been doing it her whole life. Or maybe Sadie would be there and want to take her out shopping. Darcy smiled at that. The spider woman never failed to cheer her up. Even though Sadie was older now, she was still stylish and attracted admiring looks.

By contract, Darcy looked plain next to the other women in the family. Next to her sister Drew, her elegant mother, her stylish God mother and her always pretty sisters-in-law. Next to them, she was very plain indeed now.

It could be worse.

Still, it could be better.

She watched a young mother as the plain was now letting passengers on. Her baby in one of those weird slings that kept it close. The infant looked so content and happy. The mother looking healthy and young and in love with motherhood.

Darcy had known from a very young age that she would never have her own baby. The treatments she had to undergo when she was little, the leukemia, had caused her too many complications. She had been on a variety of birth control since she had started her first period to help with pain. All the doctors told her she could never have babies of her own.

At first she didn't care. She had her own life. Yet now, seeing Becky Lawson with her two stupid, ugly twin boys, it seemed to matter more and more.

James never seemed to care about having children. He wanted her happiness more than anything. Darcy wanted her life to mean something. It felt like she had lost so much when the cancer came back. She had given up her dance career and was spared her life. Now, she wanted her life to mean something. She was sure she and James would be good parents to their child. The knowledge that a child would never happen, wounded her deeply.

She had been staring into space for so long, she almost missed the final boarding call. James nudged her and gently reminded her that the plane was boarding.

She quickly stood up, pain in her feet making her wince. Just another friendly reminder she had violent cancer twice and was still alive.

Darcy Rosenbaum Cobb, pain equals life.


	14. Chapter 14

14.

~ Emma wasn't ready for Paris. She wasn't ready to meet Daniel's beautiful mother, his fashion model sister, his brooding and sexy brother or his other ballerina sister with her Ken doll husband.

"Emma and I are getting married." Daniel said when he sensed the tension in the room.

The family was gathered in a cozy sitting room that, according to Daniel, had never been redecorated for fear he might become disoriented in the family home.

It was a shame he couldn't see the shocked looks on everyones faces. His mother looking especially upset.

"When did this happen?" she asked in a careful voice.

Emma felt Daniel's hand reach for her and she was grateful for the lifeline in a sea of what might become hostile sharks.

"Last month." he told the room in general. "She plays first chair violin."

His voice was calm and sure of himself. He wasn't going to buckle to any pressure.

"You never mentioned her before." Ariadne told him. She wasn't speaking to Emma yet. The news that her favorite son was being stolen away was too shocking.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind." Daniel said with a soft smile. Emma felt nervous. His older sister was looking at him like he had lost his mind and his younger sister looked like she was ready to roll her eyes.  
>"How much of a whirlwind?" Ariadne asked. "How long have you two known yeah other?"<p>

It was Emma who spoke up now.  
>"Six months." she said happily.<p>

Ariadne looked unimpressed.  
>"That's not very long, Daniel." she said. Her voice was stern and all mother.<p>

Daniel didn't waver. He only smiled a little more.  
>"When have I ever brought a girl home to meet the family?" he asked.<p>

That seemed to silence the group until his older brother gave out a low chuckle.

"Congratulations, little brother." Dominic said.

"Dom, I was wanting you to be my best man." Daniel said. His head turning to his brother on the couch.

Dominic defiantly looked like his little brother, yet he seemed more roguish, the black sheep of the family. He looked out of place in this stylish apartment with such well groomed people around him.

"I'll get back to you on that." he said. "I never make plans too far ahead."

"Yes, we know that, dear." Ariadne said sharply and Drew snorted a laugh.

"Mother, I know this is sudden, but we're very sure about this." Daniel said.

"You've been dating less than a year." Ariadne whined. "Marriage is a huge commitment. It's not just a party and a diamond."

Emma flinched at the comment and released Daniel's hands.

"I know that. Watching you and Dad, I know it's a serious, lifelong commitment." Daniel said. He seemed hurt by an accusation that he wasn't taking his engagement seriously.

"Daniel-" Ariadne said more sternly.  
>"Mother, how long were you and Dad together before you got married?" he demanded.<br>"That's different. With your father and me, things were different." she said quickly.

Daniel turned to the family member who had chosen to have no reaction to his announcement.  
>"Dad, when did you know mom was the one?" he asked his father.<p>

Arthur Castus had been slouched next to his oldest son on the farthest side of the couch. His wife glared at him and he shrugged.

"With your mother…" he sighed. His voice was deep and thoughtful. "I always knew she was the one."

Emma felt a rush of relief. The patriarch of the house seemed to be giving his blessing to them. Or at least he seemed indifferent.

She took a nervous glance at her future father in law. He was still as handsome as his wife was beautiful. Time, or a good diet and maybe even good doctor, had kept them looking better than her own parents. Arthur was just as handsome as his sons, even with the silver hair coming in was complementary. He didn't look his age, but had an obvious maturity.

"We've had our troubles to." Ariadne said.  
>"Yes, and Emma and I will have difficulties, I'm sure." Daniel said. "But their's no one in the world I would rather share them with."<p>

~ "That went over well." Dominic teased his brother.

"I honestly thought it would be better." Daniel sighed.

The brothers were sitting out on the balcony and enjoying the sunset over Paris.  
>"No you didn't." Dominic laughed. "The old dragon lady would have torn you apart no matter what."<p>

"Mom isn't a dragon lady." Daniel said in annoyance.

"It's why I never came back." Dominic said bitterly. "Standards."

"Is that why you ran away from home? Mom's _standards_?" Daniel asked.

Dominic was abut to make a rude answer when the doors opened and their father joined them.

"The ladies are in the kitchen and James has gone to see his dad for a little while." Arthur said.

"Is mom being nice to Emma?" Daniel asked.

"Of course she is." Arthur told him. "You know it was just a shock, that you're getting married when we didn't even know you were dating anyone."

"Well, it's not like you told your parents you got engaged to mom." Dominic offered. He gave his father a devilish grin which earned a scowl from the former Point Man.

"My mother would have loved her, and I'm sure your mother will love Emma to." Arthur told his youngest son.  
>"She just doesn't want to lose her baby!" Dominic teased.<p>

"Daniel, we just want to make sure that this is the right decision. You mother was right, marriage is a huge step." Arthur said calmly.  
>"I know, Dad." Daniel sighed. He felt like a child being told he was too young to do anything.<p>

"If she divorces you, she'll take at least half of everything. The flat grandpa left you in London, royalties. More if you have kids." Dominic offered.

"Dad, you remember when you told me about a nightmare you had?" Daniel said at last. "You dreamed that mom never loved you and we were never born. You said it was the worst nightmare you ever had and you were so glad it wasn't real."

"I remember." Arthur said darkly.  
>"Wait, you never told me this." Dominic said. He wasn't able to hide the look of jealousy in his eyes.<p>

"That's how I feel about Emma." Daniel said. Ignoring his brother. "If I lost her, I would hate my life. I don't think I would have a life. She makes me a better person. Just like you said mom made you a better person."  
>"Wow, ladies." Dominic moaned. "Let's not dump out our purses all at once here."<p>

Arthur ignored his oldest.

"If that's how you feel about her." he said at last.

"It is." Daniel said quickly.  
>"Then, I'll talk to your mother." Arthur offered.<p>

~ Emma nudged next to her fiancé in bed.

"Your sisters are nice." she said weakly. "Drew is so pretty. She looks just like Audrey Hepburn."

"You didn't tell her that did you?" Daniel asked.

His hands immediately found her body and moved over her breasts and hips.

"Yes. But only because it's true." Emma told him.  
>"Well, congratulations." Daniel smiled. "Drew will be your best friend."<p>

"When I asked Darcy about her dancing career, she seemed sad." Emma told him. "Is she still upset about having to retire?"

"I think Darcy is still upset about a lot of things." Daniel said. "The point is, we got the hard part over with."

"Daniel, your mother hates me." Emma said sadly.

"She doesn't hate anyone." Daniel said. "It was just a shock that's all."

"And why didn't you tell them we were even dating?" she demanded.

"Because I keep my personal life personal." Daniel said in a sharp tone she hadn't heard from him since before they were a couple.

She moved his hands off her. A sign that she didn't want intimacy tonight. It felt too strange to be in this big apartment; If you could even call it that. It was a massive home and showcased that Daniel came from money. That he came from a life she could never compete with.

How stupid to think she could be welcomed into a life like this?

His parents had wanted to put them up in the boys old bedroom. His mother telling him she had kept it exactly the same. Twin beds and all. His sister, Darcy coming to the rescue saying that they needed a bed together and to take the guest room.

The guest room was cool and comfortable and Emma was grateful for the alternative.

"Don't be angry." Daniel said. He rolled away from her. "It's never good to go to bed angry."

She didn't want to argue and didn't have the option anymore. Daniel was already snoring softly beside her. Seemingly oblivious to her fear.

~ "We'll have our lawyer draw up a prenup in the morning." Ariadne said. She was worried. Her son was obviously bewitched by some girl who was only after money.

"I didn't have you sign a prenup." Arthur told her gently from his side of the bed.

She settled in bed beside her husband and gave him an angry look.

"I married you without knowing much about you. I mean we were stupid kids back then. All we knew was that we liked having sex a lot." she said. "I didn't know about your father or his money. Or Becky or even the possibility of you dying on me from a brain tumor." she said coldly.

"Speaking of which." Arthur said with a smile. "You remember when I woke up from surgery?"

He ran a hand over the scar on his head. His silver hair concealed most of it now, but he could still feel the angry whelp of scar tissue.  
>Ariadne looked sad.<br>"You said you dreamed I never loved you." she said meekly. "I had never seen you cry before that day. Not really cry."

"It's because I was so glad it was just a dream. I was glad I was married to you and we had our home and our little family. Even with all the hard times, all that went wrong; there was a lot more that went right." he said

"Arthur." Ariadne whined. "I hate it when you talk like this. It makes it hard to stay mad."

"Daniel has always been sensible. I think he really loves this girl and we need to be happy for him. He's not a baby anymore. He's grown and is ready to start his own family."

"His own _family_?" Ariadne barked. "Arthur, how can he take care of a family?"

"The same way he can take the bus or a taxi in London. The same way he's been able to do everything in his life. He'll stumble through it, and find a way."  
>"I don't want him to stumble. This girl doesn't know what it's like to be with someone who is blind." she whispered.<p>

"You can't take care of him forever." Arthur said. "He can take care of himself and he has Emma to take care of him to."

She wanted to argue with her husband, but he was kissing her hand. His lips grazing over the large sapphire engagement ring she still wore.

"By the way, I think my mother would have loved you." he whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

15.

~ "What do you think about Daniel's new fiancé?" Drew asked her sister.

Darcy waited patiently as her baby sister carefully outlined her lips and applied garish lipstick.

"I think it made mama forget what you did to your hair." she snorted when she could talk again.  
>"I'll have you know short hair is very fashionable. You'd look great with short hair by the way." Drew said. She squinted at her older sister, appraising her make-up work.<p>

The two sisters were having a sleepover in Darcy's old bedroom. It had remained unchanged since she was fourteen and had gone with traveling troupe of exotic ballet dancers. Their parents had left everyones bedrooms as a sort of shrine to each child. Frozen in pre-teen and teen years.

It was a little embarrassing for Darcy to come home to her old bedroom and see her childish self sprawled over the walls in posters of boy bands. Her mother had refused to let her take them down and make it more of a guest room.

"I had short hair when I had cancer the first time." Darcy said. "It's not fun."

"Well, I think you could pull it off now. Although I like the strait hair." Drew said. She fished into her massive make-up case and selected purple eye shadow.  
>"Not purple. I'll look like a porn star." Darcy laughed.<p>

"How do you know what porn stars look like?" Drew teased. "And it's just an accent liner, see?" she held up a fine tipped brush.

"Why don't you wear makeup anymore?" Drew asked as she carefully applied a foundation to Darcy's eyes.

"Just don't feel like it." Darcy admitted sadly.

"Well, lucky for you, you have good skin and don't have to wear make-up all the time. I work with women who's skin is awful. Those makeup artists are worth whatever the magazine pays them." Drew said.

Darcy was allowed to open her eyes and inspect her sister's work.

"You like having your makeup done all the time?" she asked. She didn't want to admit that Drew's work had her looking like a clown.

"Sure. I like to look pretty. It makes me feel happy." Drew said. "You know, I remember when mom used to paint your face before a show. She had to put on a lot of makeup on you. I thought you looked so pretty."

"It was a lot of makeup." Darcy smiled. "I forgot how much we had to wear."

"Do you miss dancing?" Drew asked.

Darcy was quite for a long time while her sister tackled her other eye. No sense in being half a clown.

"Yes. But my knees and feet can't take the stress from a twelve hour a day practice anymore. I still dance in the little studio James built for me in our apartment." she said.  
>"That's sweet of him." Drew said. "I wish I could find someone like James. He loves you."<p>

"Yes." Darcy agreed.

"How did you know he was the one? I mean he always loved you, you said. How did you know he was right for you. Or did you just settle?" Drew asked.

Darcy smiled.  
>"James loved me at my worst. At my darkest hour. He wasn't afraid of the cancer for a second. It was more than that of course, but that was the main reason. Not very romantic as I was hoping for when it came to finding true love, but it was right." she said.<p>

The younger sister sighed.

"Mom and daddy were madly in love when they first got married. You can see it in their wedding pictures. The way he looks at her, I want to find someone who loves me like daddy loves mom." Drew admitted.

"You know Mama and Papa had their problems to. Everyone does. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage."  
>"I never saw them fighting." Drew said.<br>"I remember there was a lot of tension when the boys were very young." Darcy said.

"About what?"

Drew could smell the grape chewing gum on her sister's breath while eyeliner was being applied.

"Well, just stuff." she said.

"What kinda _stuff_?" Drew asked.

"I think Mama was always worried about Daniel. She was always so protective of him. Then I had the cancer which I can't imagine how stressful that was. Then there was you." Darcy said.

"The tricky child." Drew smiled.  
>Darcy grinned.<br>"You know I'm ashamed to admit how old I was when I finally got the family joke." Drew said. "Mom would tell me about how she had the two boys and that she didn't want another baby, but dad tricked her."

Both girls laughed.  
>"Yes, then she told you not to let a good looking boy trick you." the older sister said.<br>"It's weird to think of dad seducing mom." Drew said.  
>"I can't imagine it wasn't hard to be seduced. You know how it is around handsome, successful men." Darcy said. "You work around them."<p>

"I work in fashion. All the good men are as gay as jean cut offs." Drew snapped.

Darcy smiled.

She had made a decision suddenly. It was as clear to her as anything had ever been before. It was so simple and easy, she wondered why it took so long to arrive at the decision.

"James and I are going to move back to Paris." she said suddenly.

Drew pulled away in surprise.  
>"Really?" she asked. "I thought you liked it in New York."<p>

"I did when I was younger. But it's not healthy for me." Darcy said.

"Why not?"

Darcy bit her lower lip. She wasn't sure if she should tell her sister. They weren't as close as most sisters. The age gap was too large and Darcy had gone away to dance when Drew was still very young.

"You know about my birth mother, right?" Darcy asked.  
>"What do you mean birth mother? You're adopted?" Drew gasped.<br>"Stop it, dummy." Darcy said sternly.

"Sorry, go on." Drew said with a sheepish grin.

"Well, Becky still lives in New York and… I've been watching her." Darcy said. She felt guilty somehow. Like she had betrayed her family.  
>"Oh." Drew said.<p>

"Nothing weird. I just have my driver park in front of her building when I know she'll be coming out." Darcy said quickly.  
>"Well, is she a hideous drunken wreck. Because I think mom and dad would be super cool with that." Drew said.<br>"The opposite. She's married with twin boys."

"Gross." Drew said.

Darcy smiled, but her smile dulled just as quickly.

"It's just not fair that she get's a happy ending and I don't." she said.

Drew got her hair roller and was starting to put fine curls in Darcy's hair.  
>"Well, you know what I've learned about happy endings?" the younger sister offered. "You have to go and make your own. That's what everyone in hollywood does. I have this writer friend who always says you can't just hope for a happy ending, you have to <em>create <em>it."

Darcy liked the way Drew was combing though her hair. It felt nice to be pampered again.

"I think you and James should move back to Paris and let mom take care of you again. You know she loves to do that. I think you and James should get your own place, and maybe adopt a kid. If that's what you really want." Drew said.

"I wanted to have my own child." Darcy said.  
>"You were adopted. Mom as always been crazy in love with you. Besides, adoption is so trendy right now. Especially from one of those coutures that hates girls. I could go with you to the orphanage. You know, Audrey Hepburn worked a lot of children's aide in those countries." Drew offered.<p>

The younger sister was quick with fixing her hair and Darcy was surprised to see her reflection look so different. She didn't look like a clown or a porn star. She looked glamours and like a movie starlet.

She understood what Drew meant when she said it made her happy to be beautiful. For a moment, Darcy saw that shadow of the girl she used to be.

"Drew." Darcy laughed. "Wow, you're really good at this."

"I know." Drew sighed. "Now let's take a selfie."

She held up her camera phone and both sisters smiled for the photo.


	16. Chapter 16

16.

~ Dominic had stolen out to the balcony to smoke. He wasn't used to the time change and felt it would be better sleep when he got home. He could never feel comfortable in his childhood home anyway.

Paris was still beautiful to look at from the view his parents had. He had forgotten how beautiful it could really be at night. It wasn't hurried or noisy like Tokyo. Instead of bright lights, Paris sort of… glittered. Like a timeless treasure that never went out of style.

Dominic wished he could enjoy this time with his family more. But it was all to clear he was the odd man out. That the family didn't think much about him. Not like they did with Daniel.

Dominic was sure that their mother wouldn't care if he got married. Or didn't.

No, the sooner he was back in Japan, the better.

"Dominic, what are you doing out here?" came a deep commanding voice.

He turned and saw his father closing the doors behind him on the balcony.

Dominic held up his cigaret to show why he had exiled himself outside.

Arthur nodded.  
>"Same here." the former Point Man said and pulled his own pack from his robe.<br>"Thought you quit." Dominic said and held out his lighter to his father.  
>"Thought I told you never to start." Arthur said coldly. "Your mother and I came to an agreement that I smoke when she's asleep. Trust me… she's <em>very<em> tired."

Dominic recognized his own sarcasm in his father's voice.

"Oh, Dad." he said. "I didn't need to hear that."

"You should be happy to hear it, son. It means you have a good chance for a strong sex life when you're my age. Trust me, it's not easy to keep the spark alive when you're our age and you've been married for so long." Arthur teased.  
>"Damn." Dominic laughed.<p>

"So." Arthur said after a long pause. "You live in Japan."

"Yes." Dominic said.

"What do you do there?"

"This and that." Dominic said. He wanted to be internally vague.

"You know, when you ran away from home, your mother and I said we wouldn't send you money till you came back and went to school again. I'm glad you made it on your own without our help. It means you can take care of yourself and that important." Arthur offered.

"Pride made me take care of myself. I don't mind living in poverty." Dominic said.  
>"What I'm trying to say, son, is that if you need money. If you want to by an apartment, or a car. Or if you have any debts-"<p>

"I'm fine." Dominic interrupted.

Arthur nodded.

They sat in uncomfortable silence.  
>"What do you think of your brother getting married?" Arthur asked.<br>"Good for him." Dominic said curtly. "She seems like a nice girl."

"Yeah, she does. Your mother is worried."  
>"Well, that's mom isn't it? She always worried about Daniel." Dominic said<p>

"Are you seeing anyone?" Arthur asked.

Dominic thought about lying, or saying it wasn't anyone's business, but he liked that his father was showing an interest.

"I've been living with a lady friend for a few years now." he said.  
>"Do you think you'll take the plunge?" Arthur asked.<br>"She wants to. Been putting a lot of pressure on me to get hitched." Dominic shook his head. "It was a lot better when we agreed there would be no commitments. Why do you have to have a piece of paper to prove we're serious about each other?"  
>"It means something." Arthur said carefully. "It means something to get married. To make that commitment to another person. Your mother and I planned to live together before we got engaged. She had this little flat across town that we would spend most nights at. Then, I bought this apartment for us. I bought it, because I knew I wanted to marry her, and raise our family here. I had a fear that she might get pregnant before we were married and I didn't want to dishonor her like that. It was important to me we get married for the right reasons."<p>

Dominic looked at his father. He was sad to see the older man looked better than he did. Dominic needed a shave, and was long overdue for a haircut. Drew's hair was shorter than his. He could now easily pass for a homeless person the way he looked and dressed. I was hard to believe he had come from such a affluent home.

"You never regretted marrying mom?" Dominic asked.  
>"Never." Arthur told him quickly.<p>

Dominic wanted to ask more from his father. Gain some kind of father son wisdom they had missed out on when the latter had stolen away on a sailing trip around the world. Never to come back until now.

"Do you remember we had that nurse. You were still very little and Darcy was in Russia with the ballet there?" Arthur said with some difficulty.

"Yes." Dominic said. "I don't know why she was there."

"We had sent you kids away that summer. We didn't want you to see." Arthur said slowly.  
>"See what?" Dominic asked.<p>

"It started as nose bleeds and headaches for me." Arthur sighed. "It turned out to be a brain tumor."

Dominic leaned away from his father as if the cancer might be contagious.

"I had surgery, cut it all out." Arthur said.

He ruffled his own silver hair and showed his oldest son an ugly scar on his head.

"When I was under, they had to stimulate certain synapses in my brain to expose all the cancer. So, I experience a very vivid hallucination." Arthur explained.

Dominic watched as his father took a long drag. The smoke coming out like a dragon's smoldering. Aunt Sadie smoked the same way.

"I hallucinated that your mother never loved me." Arthur said sadly. "That she was a lesbian."

Dominic raised his eyebrows and almost make a joke.  
>"It wasn't as nice as you might think." Arthur said judging his son's expression. "It was horrible because everything I loved, everything about me that was good, was suddenly gone. I owe everything to your mother, Dominic. Not just for being my wife, but for giving me a real family. For bonding my friends closer to me. None of those things would have happened if I hadn't married your mother. If we had just lived together, it wouldn't have been the same. Yes, there were hard times, we had our troubles, but I wouldn't have changed it."<p>

Dominic was listening, but he felt his blood turning cold.  
>"They got all the cancer? It never came back?" he asked. His voice sounded like a child's again.<br>"Yes. That nurse was at the apartment to help me with rehab. Nothing wanted to work right after the surgery. I had to learn to walk again, and feed myself. It was awful. It was only six weeks and I was fine again, but it was the worst time of my life. Another reason I was glad your mother was here for me." Arthur explained. "When I woke up from surgery, after that hallucination, I cried in relief to see her wearing her wedding rings."  
>"Dad." Dominic said. He sounded numb and frightened. "How did you get the tumor?"<p>

"My mother, your grandmother died from a brain tumor when I was a kid." Arthur said. "It's not something we talked about I know."

"You had nosebleeds and headaches?" Dominic asked.

He was getting tunnel vision.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"The past few months…" Dominic said carefully. "I've… I've been having a lot of nosebleeds… and headaches."


	17. Chapter 17

17.

~ "Are you absolutely sure that his symptoms are the same?" Ariadne asked. It was early in the morning, and the rest of the house was asleep. Arthur hadn't slept well after he had spoken to Dominic.

"He wants to go back to Japan in a few hours, I need you to help me convince him to see a real neurologist about this." Arthur told her.

"You said he had an MRI and it came back negative." Ariadne told him. "Maybe it's nothing."

"Hopefully it's just dry sinuses and poor diet." Arthur added. "But if it's not, if he has the same tumor I had… my mother had."

Ariadne sighed.

"I can't believe this is happening to us again. We have to get Daniel and Drew checked out to." she said in a worried whisper.  
>"We will, but Dominic needs to come first right now. We've put him aside for too long because we've never had to really worry about him." Arthur said.<p>

There was the sound of a door opening down the hall and footsteps coming into the living room. Arthur and Ariadne fell quite as Emma and Daniel came in.

Their second son could navigate the layout of the apartment with ease and Ariadne was glad she had never changed the furnishings of the family home. She didn't want to confuse him. She wanted this home to always feel safe.  
>"Morning you two." Arthur said loudly. "How did you sleep?"<br>"We're about to leave, but we wanted to talk to you first." Daniel said.

"I don't just want a party and a diamond." Emma snapped at Ariadne. "Just because I come from a broken home doesn't mean I'm damaged goods, and not good enough for your son."

Ariadne leaned back from the young woman in surprise.

"I never said you weren't good enough." Ariadne said gently.  
>"You implied that." Emma said.<br>"No, what I _implied_ was that marriage is nothing to enter into lightly. It takes a lot of work and sacrifice."

"You don't think I know all that?" Emma asked. Her voice breaking slightly. "It's one of those things that is so had that you need the support of family."

Ariadne closed her moth at this.

"Is because of the blindness?" Daniel asked. "You think I won't be a good husband? A good father someday?"

"And no, I'm not pregnant." Emma added.  
>"I'm glad. I want you to get married for the right reasons." Ariadne told her.<br>"Daniel, you know your mother and I had our own hardships early on in our marriage. We even had to separate for a few weeks when you were very little and go to marriage counseling." Arthur said soothingly. "We support everything you do, but marriage isn't always a forever thing."

"We want there to be a prenup. To protect your inheritance. When we die, we want you to have enough to live off of." Ariadne interrupted.

"No." Daniel said.

"I'll sign it." Emma told them.

"Emma. No." Daniel said harshly. "You're going to be my wife. We need to start out with every expectation that this will last. Not set ourselves up for failure."

"If it will make things easier, I'll sign it." Emma said.  
>"Well, good." Ariadne sighed. "You're father and I need to talk to you and Drew about something else-"<br>"We're leaving." Daniel said and stood up.

"Wait!" Arthur said and followed his good son to the guest room.

Emma stayed behind with her future mother-in-law.  
>"I'm sorry this wasn't a happier visit." the younger woman said quietly. "I know you don't think much of me."<p>

"I don't know you." Ariadne said. "It has nothing to do with liking you. My son, surprised us all with this."

"Is it because my family is working class?" Emma asked.

Ariadne laughed.  
>"How snobbish do you think we are?" she asked. "When I met Daniel's father I was a poor student living in a tiny apartment with a roommate. I had to live off a part time job and lunch vouchers to survive. Arthur didn't even tell me he came from money till after his father died. Then, all the sudden I find out about his park avenue home, his inheritance and, oh yes, his ex-girlfriend who was Darcy's birth mother. Then, I have a son born blind, a move to New York another child with cancer, Arthur's ex coming to Paris and trying to kill me, my blind son getting kidnapped and the almost mauled to death by a pack of dogs, and all that before we were married for ten years."<p>

Ariadne was breathing hard.

"As for the money we have now, very little of it comes from Arthur. He had to retire from a very lucrative line of work because of a brain tumor that almost killed him and left him partially paralyzed for six weeks. I created an artist software that enables video game designers to create artificial environments easier. This is after we fought for years about my going back to a career over taking care of children all day."

Emma didn't say a word.

"So I'm sorry, but I think I have the right to have some perspective about the men in this family." Ariadne finished.  
>"Daniel never told me he was kidnapped." Emma said softly.<p>

"He was very young at time. He never talks about it." Ariadne said. She was in more control now. "We had hoped he had forgotten. They never caught who did it. Daniel was only able to give them a few clues."

"I guess that's why he never wanted a seeing eye dog." Emma concluded. "Why didn't he tell me that?"

"Because the men in this family are good at that." Ariadne told her. "I never knew Arthur came from so much money until after I married him. I guess he wanted to make sure I was marrying him for him, and not his money."

"I'll sign whatever you want, but Daniel and I love each other." Emma said. "Better or worse."  
>"I'm going to hold you to that better or worse part." Ariadne said sternly.<p>

~ "Daniel, wait." Arthur said catching up to his younger son.  
>"I knew this was a bad idea." Daniel said trying to slam the guest room door behind him. It was one of those times he could pass for a seeing person. His senses were so attuned to the sounds around him. he almost slammed the door in his father's face.<br>"Daniel, you sprang all this on us at once. You have to look at if from our side of things." Arthur said in a stern voice. He had never had to scold his son before, never talk to him like this before.

"We didn't even know you were dating anyone. You never even mentioned this girl or introduced us to her before yesterday. How would you expect your mother to react?" Arthur said.

"Well, I'm not exactly her baby anymore." Daniel said.

He was feeling in the closet for his luggage and carefully placed it on the bed. His fingers searching for the zippers.  
>"Of course not. But you could have acted like an adult this time." Arthur said. "It was childish of you not to tell us about this girl. I almost think you wanted to hurt us."<p>

Daniel stopped packing and was quite for a moment. When he did speak, his voice was calmer.  
>"I don't want to hurt you." he said at last.<br>"Why didn't you tell us about Emma?" Arthur asked.  
>"I like to keep my personal life personal." Daniel said.<br>"I don't buy that."

"Because you wouldn't have approved of Emma. You and especially mother wouldn't have approved of anyone." Daniel said at last.

"How would you know that?" Arthur said. "You never gave us a chance."

"Look, if you want to come to the wedding, that would be great. But If you guys come, I won't have anymore of this prenup bullshit." Daniel said.

"Don't leave home angry." Arthur was saying as Daniel started packing his bag again.

"This isn't my home, dad." Daniel said.

Arthur hated the way his good son said that. Hated that he had an empty house where there was once so much beautiful chaos.

"Fine. I know your home is in London now. Your life is in London." Arthur capitulated. "I need to talk to you about something else."

"If it's about a prenup, I said no."

"It's not about that." Arthur sighed.

He watched Daniel stop packing and turn his ear to him.

"Do you remember a long time ago when you were very little, I was sick?" Arthur asked.


	18. Chapter 18

**~ 5 years later… ~**

~ All good things…

Ariadne was excited and exhausted all at once. She had never once been on this side of the hospital waiting room.

"Relax." Arthur teased.  
>"It's our<em> first<em> grandchild. I can't relax." she snapped at him.

"Well, pacing isn't going to do any good." he said. "You took forever with Drew."

"I know I was holding her in just annoy you." she said with a smile.

"Eww." Drew said from beside her father.  
>"By the way Drew, I really don't like that photo spread you did with that actor boy." Ariadne added.<p>

"What was wrong with it?" Drew asked.  
>"You were in your underwear and he had you blindfolded with a necktie and he was holding your wrists back." Ariadne told her.<br>"It wasn't sexual." Drew shrugged.

"Of course it was." Ariadne laughed.  
>"Mother, I was completely covered and John Gibson Lewis was a sweetheart. He's a big computer nerd. All he talked about was your video games. Besides, he's an actor and it was just a photo shoot." Drew said lazily.<p>

"I heard on TV it was more than that with you two." Dominic said with a grin. "You're all over LA together. Getting coffee and all that."

"Wow, that sounds like none of your business." Drew said.  
>"Well, I liked him a lot more when he was on TV." Ariadne added. "And you promised your father and I no shoots like that."<p>

"Mother, we're in a movie together. I'm playing an assassin. I have to be a little sexy." Drew said. "You know, right before my character kills his character with an injection of a deadly virus that I keep hidden in an ink pen."

"Awesome." Dominic added from his spot next to Drew.

"It is awesome." Drew agreed.

"I thought you said no action movies." Daniel added. "I thought it was going to be all indie flicks and cuteness."

"Yes, but that was before she was offered a shit ton of money to do this picture." Dominic told them.  
>"I've been out of the loop, kids." Eames asked. The little family turning to their long time friends. "How much is a <em>shit ton<em> of money?"

"Enough that I can buy that little apartment in Paris I've had my eye one." Drew said.

"Yeah and you and your not boyfriend can move here with the rest of us." Dominic teased.  
>"Good girl." Sadie nodded. "Remember to declare your income in the states. It's much cheaper."<p>

"I will." Drew nodded.  
>"Not to get off subject, I'm glad this baby is being born in Paris." Cobb said. "It's become a tradition now."<p>

"For a while there I was worried." Arthur agreed. "Who would have thought a medical scare would bring us all closer?"

"I did give me a scare. Glad it was just blood pressure issues." Dominic agreed. "Glad medication can help it to."  
>"I still want you three checked every year." Arthur nodded to his three biological children.<p>

"Think the family curse is broken, daddy." Drew told.

"What do you think she'll name the baby?" Sarah asked.

"If it's a girl, Julia. Which is nice." Ariadne said. "If it's a boy, Gideon."

"Means God's warrior." Arthur offered.

"Didn't realize you guys were that religious." Eames teased.

"We need a warrior in the family." Ariadne said.  
>"Emma, are you nervous for your own?" Drew asked.<br>Emma ran a hand over her larger belly and smiled shyly.

"A little. The baby shower last week was really wonderful and I feel a little more prepared for little David's arrival." she told them.  
>"I'm glad you found out the gender." Drew told her sister-in-law. "Makes it easier to decorate."<p>

"Guess we have to wait to find out the sex of this baby. Wonder why?" Eames asked.

"Who knows with that girl." Sadie snapped.

Ariadne was about to argue with her best friend when James Cobb came in. His body wrapped in blue paper dressing gown, including his feet.  
>The whole room seemed to hold it's breath.<br>"It's a boy." he breathed. "6 pounds, 5 ounces, nineteen inches long."

Ariadne seemed frozen and her husband stood and took her hand.  
>"He's fine. He's perfectly healthy." James added. "Darcy's doing great. We can see them now."<p>

~ Gideon Arthur Cobb looked a tad grumpy at being born to loving parents and a room full of extended family.

Ariadne held her first grandchild in her arms and almost cried.

"I know he's not blood related, but he looks like you." she told her husband while Emma was giving Darcy a hug and Drew was taking pictures.  
>"No, he doesn't. I've never been that handsome." Arthur said.<p>

Drew looked exhausted but happy. Her color had come back during pregnancy and she seemed to shine more than she had in a long time.

"He's perfect." Drew announced.

"Yeah, the second you shop around for a kid to adopt, you get pregnant." Dominic teased.

"Well, not the very minute." Darcy corrected him. "But I am glad he's here. We may adopt anyway."

Alma Castus had stayed in the family room with them. Her job of delivering the baby was over, but as Dominic's new wife, she was welcomed to join them.

"Thank you so much for being here, Alma." Drew said. "I was so scared."

"Of course." Alma said in her soft spoken accent.

"Emma, you should hold him. Get some practice in before David arrives." Darcy laughed.

Ariadne, reluctantly, handed the baby over to Emma. She didn't want to part from little Gideon now that she had fallen in love with him.

It was different to hold a grandchild than a child. When Dominic was born, she was afraid of him. Afraid she wouldn't know how to take care of him. Afraid he would cry and she wouldn't know what to do.

Now, it seemed babies were so easy to take care of. All that worry was for nothing.

"Mom, are you sure you don't mind James and I staying with you till we're in a routine?" Darcy asked.  
>"No, I want you to stay." Ariadne told her. She was glad to have her daughter and grandson home for a few months. "It would have been so much easier if I had help when Dominic was born."<p>

"I wasn't that bad." Dominic laughed.  
>"You were terrible." Arthur said.<p>

Ariadne ran her fingers gently through Darcy's blond hair.  
>"Congratulations, honey." she whispered.<p>

**~ Thirty Five Years Earlier ~**

~ Ariadne woke up in her strange bed. The mattress was deep and comfortable, but she had a second of panic wondering where she was. Her sleep had been so deep and dreamless, she wasn't sure if she had been asleep for one hour or twelve.

It was still dark outside and she could hear the waves of the ocean.

'_I'm in the hotel._' she thought to herself. She looked over at the sleeping body of her new husband. He had walked down the beach some time in the night. She wasn't sure why and decided not to ask.

She still couldn't believe they were married. The planning and chaos of the wedding was over and she was no longer his bride, but his wife.

A moment of worry seized her at the feel of her wedding band next to her engagement ring.

What if she had made a huge mistake?

What if she had misjudged Arthur? What if she married him, had children with him and he changed into a cheating asshole?

Deep down, she doubted it. But a nagging fear was welling up inside.

They had stopped using any kind of protection a few months ago. Both of them deciding they didn't want to wait to start their family.

Was having a family so soon into their marriage a good idea? A few months ago she wasn't sure she even wanted kids.

What kind of father would Arthur make? What if he was cold and distant to them like he was with everyone else?

She twisted her wedding rings around her fingers. Arthur refused to draw up a prenup. They had no real money so it wasn't a big deal. He had bought the apartment before they were even engaged so it was his by law. If he divorced her, what would she do with a child and no real income aside from the jobs Cobb found them?

She felt nervous and worried. Maybe she should go back on birth control. At least for a while. Maybe a year or two. Make sure they built a stronger foundation as husband and wife.

Her husband woke up next to her and opened his eyes.

"What time is it?" he whispered.

She smiled.

"Late. Or early." she whispered back.

"We should go back to sleep." he said. "Unless you want to fool around again."

She smiled.

"You're not up to it." she teased.  
>"I'm always up for it." he said. but his eyes were already fluttering closed and he was snoring softly again.<p>

She looked over her sleeping husband in their dark hotel room.

She kissed him softly on the cheek and with it, planted a hope that they would be happy.

**~ END ~**

**This is the end of my "Little Family" series. I NEVER intended it to be a series. I had wanted to ****write**** about A&A on adventures in dreams and it turned into so much more than that. **

**I could easily have their children go on a whole series of adventures as well. **

**But I feel comfortable ending the series right where it is now. **

**Thank you so much for reading. **

**Lots of love. **


End file.
